Emergency Department Poc Immunoassay Testing Essay

Introduction Cardiovascular disease is a substantial concern and has emerged as one of the leading health issues. In examining cardiovascular disease, its incidence is astounding. Each year approximately one million men and women die, averaging one death every thirty three seconds (Heart, 2013).The death rate for cardiovascular issues such as myocardial infarction and CHF claim more lives than cancer and Aids combined. Heart disease will be the number one cause of death by the year 2020 worldwide (Heart, 2013). Notably heart disease is a significant health problem that not only costs lives but is a significant economic burden with costs related to doctors’ visits, medications, rehabilitation and additional contributors such as loss of work and patient rehabilitations. It is estimated at approximately 485 billion dollars annually can be associated to the treatment of heart related issues such as heart attack and CHF, early diagnosis is imperative (Heart,2013). The intention of this proposal is to introduce the function of Point of care (POC) testing in the Emergency Department for immunoassay levels and educate on the benefits of early detection of Troponin and Brain naturietic peptide levels which are cardiovascular disease markers. This proposal outlines the purpose, targeted population, costs, and benefits as well as the process of evaluation. Furthermore, acquiring approval of the Emergency Department manager as well as the director is the intention of this proposal and it is hoped that the program once approved can be launched in June of 2015. Purpose of the Program The purpose of the program is to promote is to acquire funding for the purchase of an immunoassay point of care testing machine in the Emergency Department(ED). Heart disease effects millions of people worldwide, often patients present to the Emergency Department in need of testing for heart related issues. Often times the chest pain and symptoms people are experiencing are benign, in utilizing the POC testing patients  people can be quickly assessed for cardiac markers and if negative will result unnecessary precautionary medication utilization, decrease in unnecessary overnight observation, shortened length of stay in the ED as well as reduction in patient anxiety waiting for lengthy lab results (Noyan, 2013). Target Population The target population includes men and women greater than age 18. Although heart related issues such as cardiovascular disease and CHF most commonly affect persons greater than 65 and estimated 1% of the population can be stricken with disease as early as age 18. Often times drugs may be a factor as well as genetics (Heart, 2013). It is imperative all persons presenting to the ER with chest pain or other heart related issues be cleared for any possible life threating cardiac events. There are an estimated 250,000 sudden cardiac deaths occurring each year in the united states, that translates into 680 per day, half of this is in persons younger than 65 and in addition half of these have no prior warning symptoms (Heart,2013). Looking at these statistics it is imperative that having POC testing to rule out benign conditions and reserve resources for true life threating cardiac issues. Costs Once the purchase of the device is made its annual costs are slim. With the cost of health care rising and less insurance reimbursement saving money for the hospital is vital. The purchase price for the POC device is approximately 6,000 dollars which based on a study translated into approximately 9.00 to per person to perform the test which is very inexpensive( Mainor,2002). Benefits Benefits of this program is receiving funding for the purchase of the POC testing equipment, resulting in the ability to rapidly evaluate patients presenting with cardiovascular symptoms, such as suspected acute myocardial infarction or heart failure. Utilizing POC testing into an emergency department results in quicker diagnosis, treatment, improved patient outcomes, improves ER flow through by weeding out non acute patients, decreases unnecessary use of resources such as medication and  hospital admissions. Evaluation In order to assess if this program will be successful we can survey a control group to see if the statements that are made are accurate. In surveying 100 patients that present with cardiovascular symptoms such as chest pain. POC testing can be completed to see how many of the 100 patients were non acute chest pain resulting in the reduction of resources and admissions. In addition, research from other facilities is widely available and research has already been completed ensure the success of this program. Conclusion POC testing is an easy, quick intervention that leads to quicker diagnosis and the savings of vital resources need for life threatening emergencies. This department needs to have this machine, the improvement of ER flow by reducing non acute patient wait times would be only one of many invaluable reasons to approve and fund this program. References: Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics–2013. (2013). Journal of the American Heart Association, 127(6), 1-245. Mainor, B., Hardwick, W., & King, W. (January,2002). Evaluation of a Portable Clinical Analyzer in the Pediatric Emergency Department: Analysis of Cost and Turnaround Time. Southern Medical Journal, 95(6), 4-5. Retrieved October 6, 2014. Noyan, T., Gozlukaya, O., & Cankaya, S. (2013). The Evaluation of Cardiac TroponinI Assays Measured Radiometer AQT90 Flex and ReLIA Analyzers. Journal of Medicine and Medical Research, 1(4), 16-22.