University of Ulster MATCH Programme
University of Ulster MATCH Programme Survey on Cardiac Point of Care Technologies
The Multidisciplinary Assessment of Technology Centre for Healthcare (www.MATCH.ac.uk) programme funded by the EPSRC/DTI, is a five-year collaboration between five UK universities. These include the universities of Birmingham, Brunel, Nottingham, Kings College London and Ulster together with a cohort of industrial partners. The MATCH programme aims to support the healthcare technology sector and its user communities by creating methods to assess value from concept through to mature product and by engaging with regulatory bodies at home and abroad.
Much of the work of MATCH concerns the health technology assessment of medical devices and health technologies to determine their value and benefits to improving healthcare delivery. This involves aspects of health economics, cost effectiveness modelling and user perspective studies. The MATCH research hub based at the University of Ulster, led by Professor Brian Meenan has a particularly interest relating to the impact of new and emerging health technologies within the healthcare system. This is based around a number of technology exemplar studies such as lab-on-chip cardiac point of care technologies (POCT). MATCH at the university of Ulster is currently carrying out an on-line appraisal survey of healthcare professionals on the value and benefits of point of care technologies used in cardiac marker testing during rapid chest pain assessment. This aims to garner the views and opinions of users as to the value of POCT and how this compares to the central pathology laboratory based practice currently employed in the NHS.
At present the survey is being carried out within Northern Ireland health Trusts but is being extended to other health Trusts and associated organisations within the rest of the UK. The survey is currently available at www.match.ac.uk/poct/index.jsp and takes between 10-15 minutes to complete anonymously. The information will be used in a subsequent peer reviewed publication appraising the value of POCT and copies will be made available to all participants via the MATCH website www.match.ac.uk Further information about the POCT survey can be obtained from Francis FitzGibbon, Research Associate MATCH Programme, University of Ulster on (028) 90368925 or f.fitzgibbon@ulster.ac.uk.