Important features of blood glucose meters.
OBJECTIVE
To provide an overview of several blood glucose meters that will enhance practicing pharmacists' knowledge and understanding of these devices to allow education of the patient with diabetes.


METHODS
Original and review articles, blood glucose meter package inserts and manuals.


RESULTS
Careful blood glucose control is essential to prevent long-term complications of diabetes. Newer blood glucose meters have a broad variety of features, including small size, extended memory capacity, blood glucose manipulation techniques, and computer downloading capabilities. The decision to choose a blood glucose meter should be based on a number of criteria, including the patient's needs, ease of use, and affordability.


CONCLUSIONS
Pharmacists must position themselves to differentiate among the numerous blood glucose meters available on the market and make appropriate recommendations based on patient-specific needs.
Kirk
J K
JK
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1084, USA. jkirk@bgsm.edu
Rheney
C C
CC
D015190:Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection; D002138:Calibration; D003376:Counseling; D006801:Humans