This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wax, D. B. Articles by Reich, D. L. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Wax, D. B. Articles by Reich, D. L. Related Collections Economics and Health Care Research

---

ECONOMICS, EDUCATION, AND POLICY

Changes in Utilization of Intraoperative Laboratory Testing Associated with the Introduction of Point-of-Care Testing Devices in an Academic Department

From the Department of Anesthesiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City, New York.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to David Wax, MD, Department of Anesthesiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1 Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1010, New York, NY 10029. Address e-mail to david.wax{at}mssm.edu.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Availability of point-of-care testing (POCT) technology may lead to unnecessary testing and expense without improving outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that frequency of intraoperative blood testing (IBT) would increase in association with installation of POCT devices in our surgical suites.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 38,115 electronic anesthesia records for cases performed in the 1 yr before and 1 yr after POCT installation. For each case, the frequency of IBT was tabulated and the change in frequency of IBT between the study periods was calculated for individual anesthesiologists, for the department as a whole, and for clusters of anesthetizing locations.

RESULTS: For the department as a whole, there was no significant change between the before and after study periods in the 13% proportion of cases in which IBT was obtained. For cases in which IBT was used, there was no significant increase in the number of IBTs per case.

CONCLUSIONS: We found no significant increase in the overall utilization of IBT associated with POCT presence in noncardiothoracic operating rooms.