Owen Mumford launches ‘Sample with Confidence’ educational materials for capillary blood sampling

September 2017

Oxford, UK – 11 September 2017 (11AM GMT): Owen Mumford, a global industry leader in medical device design and manufacturing, is today launching a portfolio of educational materials at the 53rd Annual EASD event, Portugal. The education range, branded ‘Sample with Confidence’, has been designed to provide Healthcare Professionals with support for capillary blood sampling.

When conducting capillary blood sampling, achieving a sufficient sample volume, avoiding pre-analytical errors and minimising patient discomfort is key. Pre-analytical errors account for 75% of all testing test errors1. Understanding a good capillary sampling technique can help reduce pre-analytical errors, ensure reliable test results and reduce frustration from Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) whilst also alleviating patient frustration if the sample is not collected right first time.

Owen Mumford has responded to this need from HCPs by developing a range of educational materials in consultation with Key Opinion Leaders and global best practice guidelines. The educational materials contain information to help guide and ensure a more positive experience of simple capillary sampling for the end-user. The initial range of materials, which will expand over time, can be accessed at http://www.samplewithconfidence.com.

Two leading experts in the field of blood sampling, Mary Ertl Dettmann2 and Beth Kratzer3 worked with Owen Mumford to develop the content.

“Owen Mumford understands the importance of getting the right capillary sample first time. By using the ‘Sample with Confidence’ educational materials, the end-user’s confidence will grow, leading to a better patient experience. For HCPs, the content will ensure that accurate, reliable test results are obtained,” said Mary Ertl Dettmann. “These materials show how and why certain devices should be used and which are appropriate depending on the patient and the blood volume that is required.”

Beth Kratzer said about the new Owen Mumford initiative, “It is great to realise that these materials can be utilised by the healthcare industry to inform and educate HCPs on the importance and best practice of capillary sampling. I was delighted to assist Owen Mumford in the development of these materials, working together to achieve our shared goal of reducing capillary blood sampling pre-analytical errors which would help to ensure a quality specimen and thus quality results for the patient.’’

To encourage sampling with confidence, the materials align with Owen Mumford’s recently re-branded Unistik® range. Unistik® provides a comprehensive system of single use lancets, providing a choice of three different device variants with two modes of activation. Unistik® 3 and Unistik® Touch are finger lancets that use Comfort Zone Technology – developed to minimise the pain of finger sampling. Unistik® TinyTouch is a neonatal heel lancet specifically designed to minimise sampling discomfort for babies by using a motion blade instead of a puncture approach.

References:

  1. Ghaedi, M. and El-Khoury, J. (2016). Pre-Analytical Variation: The Leading Cause of Error in Laboratory Medicine. Clinical Laboratory News.
  2. Mary Ertl Dettmann MA, CLS, MT(ASCP), is a former Education Coordinator at ACL Laboratories, West Allis Wisconsin and Education Manager-Laboratory at Wheaton Franciscan Laboratories Milwaukee Wisconsin.
  3. Beth Kratzer CLS MT(ASCP) is a Clinical Development Coordinator, Laboratory Education Department at Ascension WI Wheaton Franciscan Laboratories Milwaukee Wisconsin.