CardioChek PA (CCPA), a portable whole blood analyser for rapid lipid measurement, has been on the market since 2002 but with limited evidence of performance levels. 
CardioChek PA
Point-of-care testing (POCT) provides immediate results for clinical decision-making, however, quality assessment is essential to ensure system performance requirements.  POCT diagnostic tests need continuous quality management, including both quality control and quality assurance, to monitor the analytical process.  A 3-year external quality surveillance provided information useful in improving POCT performance. 
POCT
Our results solicited sequential improvements to the CCPA system by the manufacturer up to the performance level certified by the Cholesterol Reference Method Laboratory Network in 2013: total error 1.3% for total cholesterol and 3.1% for high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.



Cholesterol Reference Method Laboratory Network