As adoption of point-of-care (POC) testing increases and becomes more widespread, POC coordinators face increasing challenges in effectively managing their POC testing program. Operator management, device management, quality control, and compliance reporting are a few of the challenges being faced beyond the generation of results. An integrated ''POC ecosystem'' consisting of eight core components has the potential to improve a POC coordinator's ability to meet the challenges. The eight core components include device management, operator management, quality control, compliance reporting, competency management, inventory management, remote monitoring, and mobile access. Although solutions for each of the components exist today in one form or another, efficiently managing all aspects of a POC program requires close collaboration among health care institutions, device manufacturers, and information technology vendors in the future.W ith the ultimate goal of improving patient care, adoption of point-of-care testing (POCT) continues to grow at a high rate. 1 The ability to deliver fast and reliable results near the patient is a key driver for improving patient outcomes and optimizing clinical workflow. Key factors that contribute to the successful expansion and standardization of POCT include the role of the point-of-care (POC) coordinator, clinical requirements together with accreditation agencies, and the commercialization of new technology for devices and informatics.The POC coordinator's role and establishment of dedicated resources responsible for managing POC programs within hospitals have advanced from initial popularization in the late 1980s to a requirement and necessity for managing today's decentralized testing programs. 2 Requirements established by clinical standards agencies such as the International Standard, ISO 22870:2006 from the International Organization of Standardization, numerous standards from the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, and the RiliBÄ K guidelines issued by the German Federal Medical Council have been pivotal in standardizing the way POCT is performed. 3 Accreditation agencies such as the College of American Pathologists in the United States and the Clinical Pathology Accreditation in the United Kingdom have helped health care institutions aggressively implement structured programs for POCT and ensure requirements are met. 4 Practitioners in the field frequently request improved devices and reagents, expanded menu, and connectivity. 5 These requirements are being addressed by 3 major technological trends in POCT, miniaturization, parallelization of tests, and networking. 6 In addition, as device connectivity becomes widely available even for smaller devices, informatics solutions provide additional functionality and workflow improvements. 7 Although the present growth of POCT is strong, further adoption of POCT depends on how well the industry manages to overcome the challenges POC coordinators face in managing their POC programs. KEY CHALLENGES IN POCTWith POC devices ...

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