The AMA has made a submission to the Department of Health and Ageing in response to the report released by DoHA on the outcomes of the Point of Care Testing (PoCT) trial in general practice. The AMA has welcomed the report finding that PoCT has a role to play in supporting general practitioners in the management of patients with chronic disease. The AMA submission highlights that PoCT contributes significantly to the effective management of chronically ill patients by enabling GPs to make more timely clinical decisions.  PoCT also improves patient engagement with their GP.

The AMA submission argues the PoCT will better support general practice in the front-line management of patients with chronic conditions.  It has significant benefits for patients and its broader introduction would be consistent with the Government's stated goals of improving primary care services and supporting preventive medicine. The AMA submission highlights that INR and lipids testing should be priority areas for PoCT implementation in general practice. The AMA also raises questions about the report's estimated costs of PoCT, noting that they are much higher than the feedback from GPs and PoCT equipment suppliers would otherwise suggest.