Oxford, UK – September 11, 2017 (11AM GMT): Owen Mumford, a global leader in medical device design and manufacturing, is launching a portfolio of educational materials at the 53rd Annual EASD event in Portugal today. The education resources, branded Sample with Confidence , are created to support Healthcare Professionals with capillary blood sampling.
When performing capillary blood sampling, it’s important to collect enough sample volume, prevent pre-analytical errors, and minimize patient discomfort. Pre-analytical errors make up 75% of all testing errors1. Knowing the proper capillary sampling technique can help reduce pre-analytical errors, deliver reliable test results, and lessen frustration for Healthcare Professionals (HCPs), as well as for patients if the sample is collected correctly the first time.
Owen Mumford has addressed this need from HCPs by creating educational materials in collaboration with Key Opinion Leaders and following global best practice guidelines. The materials provide information to guide and help ensure a better experience with simple capillary sampling for the end user. The initial set of materials, which will increase over time, is available at http://www.samplewithconfidence.com.
Two leading blood sampling experts, Mary Ertl Dettmann2 and Beth Kratzer3, teamed up with Owen Mumford to develop the content.
“Owen Mumford understands how important it is to get the right capillary sample the first time. By using the Sample with Confidence educational materials, end-users will gain confidence, leading to a better patient experience. For HCPs, the information makes sure accurate, reliable test results are obtained,” said Mary Ertl Dettmann. “These materials show how and why certain devices should be used and which devices to choose based on the patient and the needed blood volume.”
Beth Kratzer shared her thoughts on the new Owen Mumford project,
“It’s great to see that these materials can be used by the healthcare industry to inform and train HCPs on the best practices and importance of capillary sampling. I was pleased to help Owen Mumford with this project, working together to reach our shared goal of reducing pre-analytical errors in capillary blood sampling, making sure quality specimens – and quality results – for the patient.”
To help promote sampling with confidence, the materials are aligned with Owen Mumford s newly updated Unistik range. Unistik offers a comprehensive system of single-use lancets, with three different models and two activation modes. Unistik 3 and Unistik Touch are finger lancets featuring Comfort Zone Technology, which is designed to reduce pain during finger sampling. Unistik TinyTouch is a neonatal heel lancet made to decrease discomfort for babies, using a motion blade instead of a puncture method.
References
Ghaedi, M. and El-Khoury, J. (2016). Pre-Analytical Variation: The Leading Cause of Error in Laboratory Medicine. Clinical Laboratory News.
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.
Beth Kratzer CLS MT(ASCP) is a Clinical Development Coordinator in the Laboratory Education Department at Ascension WI Wheaton Franciscan Laboratories, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.