Trials
Open Access
Study protocolA pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the safety, clinical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and satisfaction with point of care testing in a general practice setting -rationale, design and baseline characteristics
AbstractBackground: Point of care testing (PoCT) may be a useful adjunct in the management of chronic conditions in general practice (GP). The provision of pathology test results at the time of the consultation could lead to enhanced clinical management, better health outcomes, greater convenience and satisfaction for patients and general practitioners (GPs), and savings in costs and time. It could also result in inappropriate testing, increased consultations and poor health outcomes resulting from inaccurate results. Currently there are very few randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in GP that have investigated these aspects of PoCT.
A case summary/rationale was also returned to participants. Results: There was considerable diversity in the range of interpretative comments received for each case report. Although the majority of comments received were felt to be acceptable by the expert panel, some comments were felt to be inappropriate, misleading, or in a few instances, dangerous. Conclusion: The golden rule in medicine is "do no harm". Although there is no objective evidence that interpretive comments help to improve patient out-
This unique POC model for supporting diabetes management is the first of its type to be developed for indigenous communities and has considerable potential to be adopted worldwide.
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