Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Neurocrit Care. 2012 Oct;17(2):231-5. doi: 10.1007/s12028-012-9705-1.
Neurologic emergencies are common, frequently devastating, and benefit from timely diagnosis and treatment. Point of care (POC) technologies have the potential to assist clinicians caring for these patients. In order to prioritize development of new POC testing, a thorough assessment of clinical needs is required. We describe the methods of the clinical needs assessment (CNA) process and provide the initial findings of a CNA for POC technologies in neurologic emergencies performed to support a National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) initiative.
CNA is an iterative process. An initial survey instrument was developed through consensus by a multi-disciplinary panel and underwent internal validation through beta-testing and face-validity assessment. This survey was distributed at the national meetings of several academic medical societies and results were used to redesign of the survey tool for broader distribution. Analysis of responses from the revised survey supported the release of a request for proposals (RFP) in 2010. Survey revision continues, and expanded CNA efforts with focus groups are being designed in anticipation of another RFP in 2012.
The initial survey identified six areas of clinical need and two domains of interest. The revised version gathered additional responses but no new domains or areas of clinical need were identified. The resultant RFP generated 23 letters of intent from industry and academic institutions, of which three were chosen for funding.
Assessing clinical needs is a necessary first step in developing new technologies. A multi-faceted approach assures that the views of interested stakeholders are represented and can influence success.
神经急症较为常见，且往往具有破坏性，及时的诊断和治疗有助于改善预后。床边检测（POC）技术有助于临床医生对这些患者进行诊疗。为了优先开发新的 POC 检测方法，我们需要对临床需求进行全面评估。本研究旨在描述床边检测技术临床需求评估（CNA）流程，并报告该流程在支持美国国立卫生研究院生物医学影像与生物工程研究所（NIBIB）倡议中的初步发现。
CNA 是一个迭代过程。通过多学科专家小组的共识开发了初始调查工具，并通过测试版和表面有效性评估进行了内部验证。该调查在几个学术医学协会的全国会议上分发，结果用于重新设计更广泛分发的调查工具。对修订后调查的分析结果支持了 2010 年发布的提案请求（RFP）。调查修订工作仍在继续，并设计了重点小组的扩展 CNA 工作，以期待 2012 年的另一次 RFP。
初始调查确定了六个临床需求领域和两个关注领域。修订后的版本收集了更多的回复，但没有发现新的领域或临床需求。由此产生的 RFP 从工业界和学术界收到了 23 份意向书，其中有三份获得了资助。
评估临床需求是开发新技术的必要前提。多方面的方法可以确保有兴趣的利益相关者的意见得到体现，并影响成功。
