Effect of Age, Practice Location and Covid-19 on the Use of POCT Methods by General Practitioners in Czechia in 2017–2021

Background: Point-of-care testing (POCT) helps accelerate and streamline many processes in primary care. However, there is little information on the characteristics of their users. Methods: Data were provided by the largest Czech health insurance company, covering 60% of the population. A proprietary spatial categorization model based on OECD typology, adapted to Czech primary care conditions, was used for localization. Results: In all monitored groups, we observed continuous growth in the number of general practices using POCT methods, unaffected by Covid-19. Absolute numbers of POCT-INR and POCT-CRP examinations decreased during the pandemic years. The number of POCT-INR tests is more affected by practice location, while the number of POCT-CRP tests is influenced by the age of GPs. Conclusions: Although POCT methods are a voluntary part of general practitioners’ office equipment in Czechia, their more frequent use indicates that system-level conditions are appropriately set. The interest of GPs aged 60+ is surprising. Despite using POCT examinations the least, they show similar growth to other groups.