The problem

Almost all devices have some kind of cable or wireless connection, but exporting data in a form meaningful to clinical information systems is rarely done. Historically:

• The devices have poorly-designed electronic output. Devices that ought to communicate results to electronic health records cannot do so, despite having been designed with that intent.
• They have little or no facility for entry of patient identifiers. Without this, there is no point in sending results to an Electronic Health Record.
• Their electronic output, even if it can be effectively transmitted is usually nonstandard. They speak a Babel of languages that receiving Electronic Health Records cannot interpret.
• It is difficult to efficiently manage their performance and accuracy when they are distributed across a wide area.
• It is difficult and time-consuming to assemble the results from multiple point of care testing devices into a single repository of data that could act as a source of medically important information – for example, during an epidemic – or as a source of commercially valuable information.