Regional blood glucose meter procurement.
In late 2006 the contracts for blood glucose meters in several of the Health and Social Services Boards were about to expire and The Regional Point of Care Testing (POCT) committee decided, in collaboration with Regional Supplies Service and Regional Pharmaceutical Procurement Service, to explore the possibility of a regional tender for blood glucose meters for use by hospital and community based professionals (ie a member of staff who is covered by the Trust in terms of occupational insurance). A multidisciplinary procurement team was set up to include hospital and community diabetic specialist nurses (DSNs), physicians with an interest in diabetes, patients’ representatives, representative from Diabetes UK, GP representative, Community Pharmacy representative. The specification dealt largely with quality assurance aspects of blood glucose meters and assessments made on submissions from diagnostic companies. The technical performance criteria included linearity, imprecision, bias, lot-to-lot variation, effect of haematocrit, meter-to-meter variation, sample types, neonatal use, interferences, calibration, correlation with reference methods, sample volume. An additional issue within the hospital setting was the need for connectivity whereby data from meters could be downloaded on to the laboratory information system thus allowing patient and user identification, recording of the blood glucose result and monitoring of quality control data. As a result of this process a series of blood glucose meters met the quality criteria and were deemed fit for purpose and could be recommended for use:
Accu-chek Aviva, Accu-chek Compact Plus, Ascensia Contour, Breeze 2, Menarini Glucomen Visio, HemoCue 201+, HemoCue 201DM, HemoCue Monitor, One Touch Ultra 2, Nova Xpress, Nova Statstrip.
As a result of the subsequent tender process the recommended blood glucose meters for professional use are:
Accu-chek Inform II and Accu-chek Performa.
It is acknowledged that one meter may not suit all patient groups and any blood glucose meter on the recommended list can be offered to patients. Patients can also freely select any meter through a community pharmacist but it would be hoped that the pharmacist would only stock those meters that had been vetted as fit for purpose.
Addendum March 2009
The following meters have been added to the list of those recommended for use:
OneTouch UltraEasy, OneTouch UltraSmart.
Distributed 10/08/2012 Page 1 Addendum November 2009
The following meters have been added to the list of those recommended for use:
Optium Exceed Plus, Freestyle, Freedom Freestyle
Addendum March 2010
The following meters have been added to the list of those recommended for use:
Roche Accu-chek Mobile, LifeScan One Touch Vital
Addendum March 2011
The following meters have been added to the list of those recommended for use:
Life Scan One Touch VerioPro, Medicon Glucomen LX Plus
Addendum December 2011
The following meters have been added to the list of those recommended for use: Sanofi Aventis BG Star, Abbott Freestyle Lite, Spirit Healthcare CareSens
Addendum August 2012
The following meters have been added to the list of those recommended for use: One Touch VerioIQ and the Bayer Contour XT
Meter Type Supplier DATE OF RECOMMENDATION Accu-chek Inform II* Roche December 2008 Accu-chek Performa* Roche December 2008 Accu-chek Aviva Roche December 2008 Accu-chek Compact Plus Roche December 2008 Accu-chek Mobile Roche March 2010 Ascensia Contour Bayer December 2008 Ascensia Contour XT Bayer August 2012 Breeze 2 Bayer December 2008 BG Star Sanofi Aventis December 2011 CareSens Spirit Healthcare December 2011 Freestyle Lite Abbott December 2011 Freestyle Abbott November 2009 Freedom Freestyle Abbott November 2009 HemoCue 201+ Accu-science December 2008
Distributed 10/08/2012 Page 2 HemoCue 201 DM Accu-science December 2008 HemoCue Monitor Accu-science December 2008 Glocomen LX Medicon December 2008 Glucomen LX Plus March 2011 Nova Xpress Nova December 2008 Nova Statstrip Nova December 2008 One Touch Ultra 2 LifeScan December 2008 One Touch UltraEasy LifeScan March 2009 One Touch UltraSmart LifeScan March 2009 One Touch VerioPro LifeScan March 2011 One Touch VerioIQ LifeScan August 2012 One Touch Vital Lifescan March 2010 Optium Exceed Plus Abbott November 2009
* These are the recommended meters for professional use.
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