Establishing national centre for point-of-care technology for 'Swasth Bharat, Samridh Bharat'

Abstract

[...]our tertiary care centers are overstressed and are finding it difficult to cope with the increasing patient burden. Compared with classic laboratory methods, the use of POCT devices has shown comparable sensitivity, specificity, and failure rate, but with the potential to provide a prompt and accurate diagnosis, shorten hospital stay, and alleviate the burden on the ED. Unfortunately, despite the demonstrably large burden of noncommunicable diseases in front of us, India is still lacking the implementation of nationwide POCT for the early and accurate diagnosis of myocardial infarction, heart failure, diabetic kidney disease, etc. Some POCTs that are already available in the market include troponins, BNP, NT-proBNP, HbA1c, urine microalbumins, beta-human gonadotropin, lipid profiles, D-dimer, arterial blood gas analysis, lactate, hemoglobin, liver functions, kidney functions, urinalysis, malaria, and the infectious diseases of dengue, leptospirosis, and typhoid.