Point-Of-Care Tests in Behavioral Health: Glucose Monitoring and a New Lithium Test can Provide Instant Results to Patients and Clinicians (Patient MONITORING‪)‬

New technologies and patient care models are driving laboratory testing to the patient's side--at the point of care (POC). POC testing is diagnostic testing or therapeutic monitoring carried out at or near the site of the patient. By using whole blood or other bodily specimens, POC testing eliminates the time lag associated with laboratory testing and leads to rapid results for quicker therapeutic action and improved patient outcomes and satisfaction. While such in-office testing is relatively new to behavioral healthcare, it is not a new approach in general medicine. More than 90,000 medical offices perform POC testing in the United States. Familiar POC tests include those that determine blood glucose, pregnancy, strep throat, substances of abuse, and prothrombin time. In-office testing in behavioral healthcare settings is emerging as a method to monitor effects of medications used to treat conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.