Exploring the medical need for alternate site testing. A clinician's perspective.

The ability of the clinician to make rapid and precise decisions is the cornerstone of cost-effective patient care. Alternate site testing can provide rapid information to clinicians in emergency departments and critical care units. This can increase cost-effectiveness of treatment by shortening the length of hospital stays and reducing unnecessary treatment. Currently available alternate site coagulation methods allow for much more rapid achievement of effective and safe levels of anticoagulation. Potential alternate site methods of measurement of cardiac enzymes could reduce admissions to critical care units for chest pain and improve assessment of coronary artery reperfusion.