Effective Dec. 12, 2025

Background Information: Sites which perform whole blood point-of-care testing will begin a staggered transitioning to the Siemens epoc® from the Abbott i-STAT, starting the week of December 15th, 2025. All sites will complete the transition by summer 2026. There are no changes to Troponin I and INR testing.

Change in Test Procedure:

• The epoc test menu includes:
  • Blood gases: pH, pCO2, pO2, (calculated: HCO3-, sO2, Base Excess)
  • Electrolytes: Sodium, Potassium, Ionized Calcium, Chloride (calculated: Anion gap)
  • Metabolites: Total CO2, Glucose, Lactate, Urea, Creatinine (calculated: adult & pediatric eGFR)
  • Hematocrit and calculated (estimated) Hemoglobin (selected sites only)
• All tests can be ordered individually, except for blood gas panels
• Results will appear in EPR/eChart under the “Biochemistry” header, “Whole Blood Chemistry” sub-header

Patient Impact:

• Allows flexibility of testing venous, arterial, or capillary samples for the entire test menu
• Improved patient safety, especially for pediatrics:
  • New testing methods are less susceptible to assay interference. Interference information is available on the Lab Information Manual
  • Unlike the current system, results will have reference intervals applied according to patient demographics in the downstream reporting systems, making result interpretation clearer
• Reduced number of specimens collected for tests that would normally be referred to another site

System Improvements:

• Expanded test menu for many sites
• Ability to order each test individually (no requirement to order entire test menu as a panel)
• Streamlining of Biochemistry and Hematology services at very low-volume sites

Reminders will be sent by individual sites when going live with the epoc® for routine testing.

See attached table below for list of sites proposed for each phase of the implementation (subject to change).

Access a printable file.

Submitted by: Tamara Burnham, Collaborative Practice Lead