Owen Mumford’s ‘Sample with Confidence’ program offers educational support for healthcare professionals who use capillary blood testing.
Access to education helps ensure good results, especially as more healthcare professionals use this type of blood sampling.
Global spending on POCT is expected to reach over $38 billion by 20222, making faster test results possible and enabling quicker clinical decisions as well as more suitable treatments and interventions.
Owen Mumford is a worldwide leader in designing and manufacturing medical devices and has a long history in the diabetes capillary blood POCT field. Recognizing the growing adoption of this diagnostic method, the company supports the growing number of healthcare professionals who see the advantages of capillary blood sampling for an ever-wider range of conditions.
This support comes in the form of educational materials that demonstrate how to collect different types of samples—helping healthcare providers get more accurate POCT results with capillary blood.
Tony Cambridge, POCT Manager, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, explains, “POCT is well established in patient testing for glucose, urine, blood gases, INR, and hemoglobin, but there’s potential for it to grow, especially in tests for HIV, influenza, and genetic abnormalities using molecular methods.”
“But it’s important that healthcare professionals are trained and confident in performing these tests. Hesitation around blood capillary testing usually comes from a lack of confidence and not knowing how it fits into patient care, so having good educational materials is critical to using products correctly. The resources from Owen Mumford are targeted and visual, and I think they will help users better understand how to use these tests and cut down on pre-analytical mistakes.”
The educational materials were developed in partnership with two leading blood sampling education experts, Mary Ertl Dettmann3 and Beth Kratzer4, both with backgrounds in blood sample practice.
Mary Ertl Dettmann says, “Education is key for avoiding pre-analytical mistakes, not just for POCT but for lab testing in general. People often think anyone can collect blood samples, but that’s not true.
“Being confident is essential, so the title ‘Sample with Confidence’ for our materials with Owen Mumford is very fitting. These resources show how crucial it is to get the right capillary sample the first time, and having confidence ensures reliable, accurate test results.”
Beth Kratzer adds, “Managing costs is important for healthcare everywhere. Besides cutting down on expenses from repeated sampling, the ‘Sample with Confidence’ program can decrease training costs while making sure everyone learns things the same way, since it’s not dependent on individual trainers, and it’s always available online. This helps healthcare professionals feel more comfortable and skilled with capillary blood sampling, leading to greater confidence in this effective diagnostic tool.”
You can find the ‘Sample with Confidence’ materials on the Owen Mumford website, with the UK corporate site featuring them in English. Translations for other countries will be online soon.
References
1. Markets and Markets, Point-of-Care Rapid Diagnostics Market by Testing, Global Forecast to 2022 February 2018
2. Larsson, Pylpczuk, Huisman The State of Point-of-Care Testing, a European Perspective March 2015 US National Library of Medicine
3. 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.
4. Beth Kratzer CLS MT(ASCP) is a Clinical Development Coordinator, Laboratory Education Department at Ascension WI Wheaton Franciscan Laboratories Milwaukee Wisconsin.