Are Blood Glucose Meters Accurate? New Data on 18 Meters

Results from the Diabetes Technology Society’s Blood Glucose Meter Surveillance Program identifies only six out of 18 meters that passed. Did yours make the cut?

The Diabetes Technology Society (DTS) recently revealed long-awaited results from its Blood Glucose Monitor System (BGMS) Surveillance Program. The rigorous study tested the accuracy of 18 popular blood glucose meters (BGM) used in the US. These FDA-cleared meters were purchased through retail outlets and tested rigorously at three study sites in over 1,000 people (including 840 people with diabetes). The results were troubling: only six out of the 18 devices met the DTS passing standard for meter accuracy – within 15% or 15 mg/dl of the laboratory value in over 95% of trials.

The devices that passed were:

• Contour Next from Ascensia (formerly Bayer) – 100%

• Accu-Chek Aviva Plus from Roche – 98%

• Walmart ReliOn Confirm (Micro) from Arkray – 97%

• CVS Advanced from Agamatrix – 97%

• FreeStyle Lite from Abbott – 96%

• Accu-Chek SmartView from Roche – 95%

The devices that failed were:  

• Walmart ReliOn Prime from Arkray – 92%

• OneTouch Verio from LifeScan – 92%

• Prodigy Auto Code from Prodigy – 90%

• OneTouch Ultra 2 from LifeScan – 90%

• Walmart ReliOn Ultima from Abbott – 89%

• Contour Classic from Bayer – 89%

• Embrace from Omnis Health – 88%

• True Result from HDI/Nipro (Trividia) – 88%

• True Track from HDI/Nipro (Trividia) – 81%

• Solus V2 from BioSense Medical – 76%

• Advocate Redi-Code+ from Diabetic Supply of Suncoast – 76%

• Gmate Smart from Philosys – 71%

Get the full data and all the accuracy information here.

While all of these meters received FDA clearance at some point, this study shows that not all are equivalent in terms of accuracy. The FDA looks at company-reported trials when it reviews new meters; this study took an independent look, purchasing the meters directly through retailers and testing them rigorously at respected research centers. It should be noted that the study's standards for accuracy were even higher than FDA standards. 

The results may be particularly frustrating for those on Medicare. According to market share data from the US government, about 68% of the Medicare mail orders for BGMs in 2016 were for meters that did not pass the DTS standards. It is not yet clear how the FDA (or even Medicare) will respond to the reports of particularly low-accuracy meters such as the Advocate Redi-Code+ and the GmateSmart, which have been criticized for inaccuracy before.

On the other hand, it is encouraging that two store-brand “value” meters, Walmart’s ReliOn Confirm (Micro) and CVS’ Advanced, showed great accuracy in this study.

This study was funded by Abbott but developed and run independently. (Indeed, Abbott had one meter pass and one meter fail). It’s not clear if DTS will get funding to run this study on an ongoing basis, ensuring the meters on the market are accurate and reliable. Dr. Joan Parkes, a co-author of the study, expressed her hope that manufacturers would support DTS in doing more of these studies.