Are You Getting the Correct Results from Your Blood Glucose Meter?

Surveys of healthcare professionals have found that people with diabetes may be tesing their blood glucose with meters that are not properly coded (calibrated).* This may be because they forget to code their meter when they purchase a new box of test strips, because they do not know that the meter needs to be coded, or because they code it incorrectly. 98% of healthcare professionals agreed that people with diabetes may not always code their meters correctly — potentially impacting the accuracy of results.*

What is Coding?

Coding, or calibrating is the process by which a blood glucose meter is matched with the test strips to ensure the accuracy of blood glucose test results. With some blood glucose meters, the meter first needs to be coded (or calibrated), usually by inserting a Code Strip or entering a Code Number into the meter. This “coding” needs to be done every time new test strips are used, such as when a new box of test strips is purchased.

Why Does Coding Matter?

The accuracy of blood glucose meters was evaluated in a study that compared certain properly and improperly coded meters. This study found that blood glucose test results with some miscoded meters would be adversely affected. The accuracies with some of the meters tested were found to be as high as 43%.*

For example, if your blood sugar was 92 mg/dl with a properly coded meter, your test result could be up to 131 mg/dl if it were coded incorrectly. Put simply, if your meter is miscoded, you or your doctor could be making treatment decisions based on inaccurate results.

For more information on coding visit BayerDiabetes.com/US

*Data on File - Bayer HealthCare 2004. Not all meters were tested in study.