Course · 4 hours of CPD
Read the evidence, and see where point of care testing is heading
The academy's advanced elective: appraise POCT evidence like a scientist, tell verification from validation, reason about clinical utility rather than accuracy alone, and think clearly about biosensors, decentralised testing and AI, without the hype.
Free to complete, with a certificate for your CPD portfolio. If it helps you, an optional donation at the end keeps it free for the next team.
Who this is for
- Biomedical scientists and POCT leads who evaluate devices
- Coordinators asked to justify a new test on the evidence
- Clinicians who want to reason about utility, not just accuracy
- Anyone curious about where near-patient testing is heading
What you will leave able to do
- Appraise a POCT evidence pack and spot the common biases
- Distinguish verification from validation and judge method-comparison evidence
- Reason about clinical utility, not just analytical accuracy
- Discuss the emerging frontier of POCT technology conservatively and critically
- Evaluate the promise and the risks of data and AI in near-patient testing
- Design and write up a small, honest local evaluation of a device or pathway
Syllabus
Module by module
01 Reading POCT evidence critically
- Sensitivity, specificity and why PPV and NPV depend on prevalence
- What a good POCT evaluation study looks like
- Common biases in device evaluations, and appraising a vendor evidence pack
02 Verification, validation and method comparison
- Verification versus validation for POCT
- Proportionate method-comparison studies at the point of care
- Imprecision, bias and setting acceptance criteria
03 Where POCT genuinely changes care
- Clinical utility beyond accuracy: does the result change a decision
- Reasoning through familiar examples without the hype
- The difference between the test works and testing here helps
04 The frontier of measurement
- Biosensors and continuous or near-continuous monitoring
- The near-patient molecular and lateral-flow lessons of the pandemic
- Decentralised and community diagnostics, and the equity questions they raise
05 Data, algorithms and AI, done responsibly
- What algorithms and AI can and cannot add near the patient
- Bias, distributional shift and AI as a regulated medical device
- Keeping a human in the loop, and the governance of near-patient data
06 From reader to contributor
- Designing a small, ethical local evaluation or audit
- Measuring what matters and writing it up honestly
- Contributing to the evidence base and sharing what you learn
Led by a specialist who has worked every side of POCT
Your course lead has spent a career in point of care testing: implementing, validating and supporting services day to day inside hospitals, consulting to device manufacturers and distributors on POCT and market access, and leading product management for POCT IT solutions. Every module draws on that mix of bench, business and digital, done for real.
Pricing
Free for everyone
Online course
Free
- Full course access
- 4 hours of CPD, certificate included
- Evidence-appraisal checklists
- A local-evaluation template you can run
Advisory
Quoted
- Independent evaluation design for your service
- Help appraising a supplier evidence pack
The online course is free for individuals and teams. If the standards change, your materials are updated free.
Questions, answered
Is this too academic for a working clinic?
No. It teaches durable appraisal skills through practical examples, and every module ends with something you can use on Monday. It is pitched for scientists and leads, but written plainly.
Does it require a research background?
No. It builds the statistics and study-appraisal ideas from the ground up, in plain language, using point of care examples.
Does this count as CPD?
The course represents 4 hours of CPD with a certificate for your portfolio.
Is the AI module selling something?
No. It is vendor neutral and deliberately cautious: what AI can add, where it fails, and how it is regulated and governed near the patient.