Point-of-Care Testing Biosafety Decisions: An Investigation Summary Illustrating Current Decision-Making Process in Ontario, Canada.

The survey had a high response rate of 88.7%. How POCT biosafety decisions were made was variable among respondents. For POCT-style tests conducted within laboratories, the biosafety officer (BSO) and/or the microbiologist were involved in biosafety decisions in 95% of microbiology labs or 55% of other labs. Only 27% of the respondents reported that biosafety decisions were made by BSOs and/or microbiologists when POCT was conducted outside the laboratory. When POCT is performed outside the laboratory, biosafety decisions were made largely by Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) and POCT laboratory staff. Similarly, training and auditing of staff who perform POCT were mainly done by IPAC and POCT laboratory staff. The survey showed that a wide variety of POCT was being conducted for COVID-19 patients during the pandemic.