Bayer's blood glucose meters a hit with diabetes patients
Data from a recent patient satisfaction study conducted by J.D. Power has found that Bayer blood glucose meters ranked highest in overall satisfaction among patients with diabetes. In the study of 2,024 people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who use blood glucose meters (BGMS), Bayer ranked highest in satisfaction among competitors meter manufacturers. Bayer was also the only manufacturer to receive 5 out of 5 on the JDPower.com Power Circle Ratings for consumers.
The J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Blood Glucose Meter Satisfaction Study is a patient satisfaction benchmarking study. It was fielded in September 2014 and reported overall satisfaction scores for 4 meter manufacturers, Abbott Laboratories, Bayer, LifeScan and Roche Diagnostics. The J.D. Power index methodology uses an online patient survey to gather data about six separate factors of patient experience: performance; ease of use; design; features; cost of test strips; and training. These responses are used to calculate an overall patient satisfaction score.
"Blood glucose meters are an important tool for people with diabetes to help better manage their condition and patient satisfaction is a key element in the effectiveness of the meters. J.D. Power is the gold standard of measuring consumer satisfaction and these results demonstrate that Bayer has outperformed competitors based on multiple measures of patient satisfaction," said Russell Newsome, Country Division Head of US and Canada, Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care. "Bayer is thrilled by these results, as they show our longstanding commitment to providing people with diabetes with the highest quality products to help them manage their condition."
This commitment began when Bayer (trading as Ames in 1965) developed and brought to market the first blood glucose test strip, the Dextrostix, a paper reagent strip for use by doctors.The company then created the first blood glucose meter in 1970 to allow patients to read these strips and provide them with a number associated with the reading. Bayer's support for people with diabetes continues today through its currently available range of blood glucose monitors, including the Contour Next portfolio.
In addition to these results, Bayer recently presented data from two new analyses of previously published studies at the Diabetes Technology Society Annual Meeting 2014 that demonstrated the impressive accuracy of Bayer meters.
"In addition to patient satisfaction, accurate blood glucose readings are critical to helping people with diabetes manage their condition effectively and could be clinically important for them," added Russell Newsome. "Bayer HealthCare believes that the combination of highly satisfied patients and highly accurate meters can aid in better patient care."