New meters forced upon all of us?

[Sardonicus]

Not sure if this is the correct location - mods please move if not.

I was recently told by my Practice Nurse that my beloved Accu-Chek was no longer to be supported by my GP surgery; when I queried this I was told that NICE had ordered that only the meter I was given (can't recall the name, still in its box,) will be the only one in use by all diabetics. I have no confidence in this machine, having used one at work (I am an RGN in Dementia Care) with poor results - i.e. readings at variance with clinical signs. I was told that studies had shown which prove the instrument is acceptably accurate and I therefore had to use it, as no prescription was forthcoming for my old tests.

I am Type 2, but now Insulin Dependant.

Am I being lied to?

 

[trophywench]

NICE have decreed no such thing.

She's making excuses for your CCG wanting to save money, is what she's doing! A bit childish to blame it on NICE though, far easier to tell the truth. We all know the NHS is skint and as long as meters meet the requirement that they test to within plus or minus 10% and are consistent in 'how close' they normally are, the normally unless you use a pump and the meter and pump 'speak' to each other, then that's really all we need. It's all very well liking an Accu-Chek better - but why expect the NHS to pay £25+ for a pot of strips when they are available for other meters at £10 a pot?

I recently had to buy some over the counter at a pharmacy somewhere we'd gone camping because I'd stupidly not put a spare pot in the van and they cost me £29. And that's before the NHS spend a penny on insulin or any of the other drugs I currently need, or a person to prescribe them or do a blood test or give me advice. We're bloody expensive to keep alive, us diabetics - hence if they can save money anywhere, they're going to do it.

 

[KARNAK]

I`m not aware of this, have just checked with NICE guidelines and no such info exists.

 

[mikeyB]

Hi Sardonicus, welcome to the forum🙂

Which meter have you been supplied with? All glucose meters in the UK have to comply with the same ISO standards. These apply to the most expensive and the cheapest machines. You are not being lied to.

All machines will show a slightly differing result, even with the same drop of blood, while still remaining with the accuracy limits required.

Hospital venous blood tests are the most accurate because they measure glucose in plasma rather than whole blood, though quite a few meters have an inbuilt algorithm to adjust the reading to more accord with a plasma reading.(A plasma reading is usually 10-20% higher)

All that said, a home glucose meter gives you a pretty good approximation of the blood glucose. But that’s all it is, a pretty good approximation.

You can, if you care to, test this by sampling your BG with your Accu-Chek on a finger on your left hand, then with a new strip use a finger on your right hand.

You can’t blame the cash strapped NHS for going for standardisation on a cheaper machine, because in real terms there’s no difference. It may have fewer bells and whistles, or look less pretty but the important thing is the measurement.

But if you’re that fussed, buy your strips from Amazon. Depending on your meter, they’ll be around £14-£20 for 50, then the NHS won’t have to pay for them.

Meanwhile, I’ll carry on my self funded Libre system backed up with my cheap and cheerful NHS supplied Tee2 machine.

 

[Sardonicus]

Thank you all; there are clinical reasons why the system I use suits me better than that offered, not least the decrease in my manual dexterity due to neuropathy. When at work, if I feel what may well be the onset of hypoglycaemia I can't always stop what I'm doing to check; when I can, time is important. The Accu-Chek system I use is an all in one solution and requires no fiddling with lancets or strips; both are loaded in magazines. I have other recurring problems which can present similarly to hypoglycaemia, so I need to know what is going on as soon as possible. I discussed this at length with my now retired GP who did not hesitate to approve my repeat prescriptions given my circumstances and history - neither of which I will detail here.

It certainly has nothing to do with bells and whistles nor appearance; I value my system for functionality. I base all technology purchases on such criteria. The issued Fine test Lite meets my requirements very badly indeed.

 

[grovesy]

I had not heard of that meter before, I had to look it up.

 

[Sardonicus]

Likewise, when I first saw it. I already used this type of meter professionally on other people, and did not think much of it. I tried to get theirs changed as well, but without success. So imagine my delight and surprise when I was afflicted with one, with explanations that NICE had so ordained, and that I was wrong about accuracy anyway because... Pause for dramatic effect... Scatter graphs had been done!

 

[ukjohn]

Sardonicus hi. My surgery did the same thing, they wrote and told me about the change and asked me to pick up the new meter from them. I wrote to the Practice Manager with a polite reply stating my reasons for me keeping my Accu-chec meter and the bad points for me in the new meter they offered. I had a nice reply saying they wanted their patients to feel comfortable with the equipment they have to use and that it was ok for me to carry on using Accu-Chec and they restored the strips to my repeat prescription.

John.

 

[trophywench]

Yes John - in view of what Sardonicus has now told us - then I was going to suggest he did exactly what you did.

 

[mikeyB]

Likewise, when I first saw it. I already used this type of meter professionally on other people, and did not think much of it. I tried to get theirs changed as well, but without success. So imagine my delight and surprise when I was afflicted with one, with explanations that NICE had so ordained, and that I was wrong about accuracy anyway because... Pause for dramatic effect... Scatter graphs had been done!

Including for the Accu-Chek. It’s an ISO standard check, if you’d even bothered to look before making sarcastic comments about scatter graphs. If you had bothered to read my first post, there is no significant accuracy difference between any meter that has passed the test. Just because your expensive all in one solution works for you in your situation, doesn’t mean it’s the best, and nor should it be used for everyone because it is so expensive. It might be easier for you to use it on other people, but that is hardly a good reason for the NHS to be profligate.

 

[Sardonicus]

And, Mike, had YOU bothered to read MY post before your sarcastic, judgemental reply...
1. I never said that I used the Accu-Chek on others. I didn't. I took in a spare I had for my colleagues to trial, but they preferred a separate strip type anyway. So that is what I proposed changing to. There are other, better machines which work like this; I found this one specifically worrying in the number of clearly false readings it was giving.

2. I made reference to my own circumstances, which like those of ukjohn above would, I feel, justify my continuing to use a system which I trust as part of the regime which is maintaining my health, such as it is. And good, it is not.

3. The sarcasm was aimed at the rather thin explanation given me; no mention of ISO standards was made. Nor am I unfamiliar with them; I have also studied Statistics as a branch of Mathematics and am aware of the limitations thereof. And why, I wonder, are you so perplexed? Perhaps you are somehow responsible for carrying out or acting upon these analyses. I don't know, nor do I care. And without access to the raw data, if I wished to confirm these conclusions, they are merely claims.

The reason for the wide range available in any category of goods of any and all kinds is due to several factors; e.g. economy, preference, suitability, and no doubt others.

Now; my question as been answered - but not by you - and a course of action suggested, which seems good.

Please consider this correspondence with me closed. I do not intend returning to this forum, and you would be wasting your time with further posts.

To those others making helpful suggestions, thank you very much.

 

[Ralph-YK]

@Sardonicus
Please give it a few days, then come back and give the forum another chance. It would be a pity for us to loose you on one thread.

 

[cardinalGT]

I find the ignore function to be useful tool when using forums...🙂

 

[pav]

Not heard of that meter either and had to look it up. In an effort to reduce costs GP's are moving people on to meters where the test strips are around or under £10 for a pot of 50, there is a document some where which meters the GP's can use and the cost of the strips. My past GP moved me from the Bayer next usb and Accu chek meter to the Glucomen GM (which is now phased out). They had the option of two meters and choose the one they thought was more reliable.

When I moved GP's the new one also supported Glucomen but the Areo meter, got though a few of them as I was pretty good at breaking them always replaced free of charge by Glucomen. Other areas may not be so lucky in which meter they will supply, and even though they all meet the new directive, some meters just don't seem that good to me.

If you have problems like for example hard to read the displays, you can try and justify your requirement for a different meter that is more suitable, it's worth trying to see what they will do for you.

 

[mikeyB]

I should point out to all and sundry that I am neither perplexed, nor was I involved with the carrying out of the recommendations, and the data quoted weren’t untested claims, they are international standards. And I too studied statistics in pre-med.

Good job folk don’t demand the original data from all studies on every tablet they take.🙂

Shouldn’t worry too much folks, doctors have always had heated discussions with nurses, it’s par for the course.🙂