Using information technology to improve in-patient diabetes care at the Royal Free Hospital

Advances in information technology and connectivity have revolutionised the management of diagnostic testing at the point of care. A wealth of information can be stored and accessed remotely, which has given power to point-of-care testing (POCT) coordinators at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust to ensure the quality and governance of their service.

Improving governance and control
Using POCT data management software from Roche (cobas IT 1000), the Royal Free’s POCT coordinators can see instantly, at any time and from a central location, the quality control (QC) status of connected diagnostic instruments. This system allows instruments to be ‘locked’ if the required QC tests have not been performed or are out of range, and access to equipment can be restricted to trained and authorised users. When their certification expires or misuse is detected, specific users can be ‘locked out’ until their training needs are addressed.

The system also provides a full audit trail for every test result, which is of enormous value for regulatory and accreditation purposes. Every result is linked electronically to information such as patient details, where and when the test was performed, who performed the test, lot numbers and expiry dates of reagents.