[POCT in coagulation. Quality assurance].

In the last years several point of care testing (POCT) systems used for coagulation parameters have been developed and became daily routine. As for other POCT applications (e. g. blood gas analysis) there is a need for user education and continuous improvement of quality assurance. For some POCT coagulation systems a comprehensive quality management has not been established yet. According to the feasibility and availability of control material and system self control each POCT coagulation method described in this article has a varying concept of quality management. Besides a high quality standard in manufacturing systems, devices and reagents the education of the user and the automatic self control of the instrument as well as the application of electronic and/ or liquid control samples contribute to the total quality assurance. Even if a "like versus like" control material is not available a comprehensive quality management should be implemented in daily routine concerning pre-analytic as well as technical and post-analytic criteria. Anyway to do nothing as the available control material seems to be not suitable is a bad decision.