Something minor about CoaguCheks

[pellicle]

Basically, today I found out something interesting. Roche has two slightly different versions of the XS PT strips, this apparently is related to the INRange series of devices. I went to order some more strips from my (online) provider (here in Australia) and found the following two products (at slightly different prices).

more complete details here:
https://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2023/04/pt-test-pst.html

 

[ATHENS1964]

Basically, today I found out something interesting. Roche has two slightly different versions of the XS PT strips, this apparently is related to the INRange series of devices. I went to order some more strips from my (online) provider (here in Australia) and found the following two products (at slightly different prices).

more complete details here:
https://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2023/04/pt-test-pst.html

Today I received 4 boxes for my customers from Roche, I asked on the phone and they told me that only the ones I have in the photo are available in Greece, of the record an employee told me that the company may have 2 same materials with a different name to have CE and the other not to have it.
Ιs a tactic used by many multinational companies to control prices and illegal imports from cheaper markets to more expensive ones.
The dental product in the photo costs 5 euros without CE in India and 16 euros in Greece, but it cannot be imported because it does not have the CE mark, see the green circle inside.

 

[Protimenow]

So far, I haven't bought my strips from Greece, where they're supposedly much less expensive than the ones here in the United States. If I recall correctly, they may even be subsidized by the Greek Government.

As long as the strips can be used in my XS - and are authentic - I'll probably use whatever is available and not worry about the name on the strips.

What matters is that authentic strips will work in my CoaguChek machine - whatever version I choose to use. (Currently, I have more than one XS, and an XS Professional - perhaps at some future date Medicare will get me an InRange - although I don't really need it. My XS works fine for me).

 

[Amy]

Ooooh, they’re *golden*.

 

[pellicle]

Ooooh, they’re *golden*.

they are!

 

[Martin1962]

Yes, I don't know why Roche decided to give the two versions such similar names. It causes a lot of confusion with doctors and pharmacists. I've got the newer InRange meter, and only the PST strips will work with them, not the PT strips. The PST strips however are backwards compatible with older meters.

 

[pellicle]

Mornin

I don't know why Roche decided to give the two versions such similar names. It causes a lot of confusion with doctors and pharmacists

I'm sure at some meeting the entire thing was debated ad nauseum and some exec basically wanted to ensure that their arse was covered in case somehow a patient doing self testing stuffed things up.

I did this test recently (for SnG's):



I was using the "Professional Version" ... amusingly one could also test one of each of the "Consumer" version (laughs quietly at my own nomenclature) and see what the variation of "foolhardiness" these strips have.

PS: broader context of that video
https://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2023/03/roche-coaguchek-xs.html

 

[Julian]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Dodgy Ticker]

A little story - a-pro-pos of not much - but I had dinner with an old mate a few months ago. We hadn't been in touch for a few years and so it was a good opportunity to catch up. I hobble into the restaurant and he arrives a few minutes later. He looks at me and says "Jesus - You look like ****!! What has happened to you?" to which I informed him of my cardiac issues. So he smiles benignly at me and says "I've ALSO had a valve replaced". Much mirth and laughing at our joint predicaments. So my mate, who was one of the very first "internet entrepreneurs" back in the 1970s and has been keeping his toes in the field ever since, then says to me"I was SO fed up with the Coagucheck that I contacted Roche and suggested that they create asystem whereby the test results could be kept on my computer. They said that this was out of their scope - so I did it myself and sold it to them to distribute with their new units: - and voila!! That's where the dodgy software designed to be used for our own stats originally came from!

 

[Chuck C]

Mornin



I'm sure at some meeting the entire thing was debated ad nauseum and some exec basically wanted to ensure that their arse was covered in case somehow a patient doing self testing stuffed things up.

I did this test recently (for SnG's):



I was using the "Professional Version" ... amusingly one could also test one of each of the "Consumer" version (laughs quietly at my own nomenclature) and see what the variation of "foolhardiness" these strips have.

PS: broader context of that video
https://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2023/03/roche-coaguchek-xs.html

Excellent demostration video!

 

[Protimenow]

Yes, I don't know why Roche decided to give the two versions such similar names. It causes a lot of confusion with doctors and pharmacists. I've got the newer InRange meter, and only the PST strips will work with them, not the PT strips. The PST strips however are backwards compatible with older meters.

This is the first that I've heard about InRange not being compatible with the PT strips. It may also be a strong indicator that Roche will probably phase out the XS sooner than later so that they can raise the price of the PST strips, replace the XS machines, and be able to charge more for the 'new' strips. (Has anyone else seen this incompatiblility? )

As for the different CoaguChek XS meters - Roche makes a few. There's the one that most of us use. There's also the Plus - intended primarily (I think) for small clinics or doctor's offices - it stores the chip data, and if I recall correctly, also stores results for patients. The Professional has a color display, a bar code reader, many more settings, and can be used in large clinics or hospitals to record information about the patient (patient ID), the person running the test, time and date, and other information. I have one, but it's really much more meter than I need.

The newer meters are the Vantus - which Roche told me they NEVER sell (although some are on eBay) and were to be used by Roche to send to patients who use its (now defunct) service, and the InRange - the new one that may eventually replace the 'classic' XS, has a color screen, and, I think, may even be able to handle firmware upgrades.

 

[pellicle]

This is the first that I've heard about InRange not being compatible with the PT strips

well technically nobody has said that here yet ... what my blog post says is:

So I rang Roche (in Australia) and spoke with a "Technical Support" officer who informed me that the two were interchangeable but there may be some differences in electronic communications. She was surprised when I said that my seller has a different price on the XS PT Test vs the XS PT Test PST.​

​

She also said to me that she thought that the difference between the names was PST was for "Patient Self Testing" ... (making me wonder what's happening over there in the Good Ole US of A)​

​

All very interesting. Given that I have the XS (and not the INRange) I'll be using the earlier (and cheaper) ones in my XS ...
​

 

[Protimenow]

I'll be sticking with the cheaper strips, too, until (or if) Roche discontinues them and only offers the newer strips.

 

[Martin1962]

I did check direct with Roche UK last year, their response is below.

"Many thanks for your email. The strips compatible with the INRange meter are the XS PT PST Strips. This is the newer INR meter and the XS PT PST are the newer strips (although these are also compatible backwards with the older XS machine). The other strips you mentioned (XS PT) are the older strips, they are compatible ONLY with the older XS Meter that we no longer sell."

Here in the UK the PST and PT strips are about the same price, around £75 for 24.

I've found the InRange meter to be excellent, the only slight niggle is that I can't use the full functionality of the machine to transmit my INR readings direct to my doctor's office, but that's due to a licencing issue with the software company that the doctors use to record and manage my INR, nothing to do with Roche.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

I'll be sticking with the cheaper strips, too, until (or if) Roche discontinues them and only offers the newer strips

Well I don't have one of the fancy INRange machines anyway, so I'll stick with the cheaper ones too

 

[Protimenow]

I've been self testing and self managing since 2009.

It would not bother me that my meter can't transmit my results somewhere else -- I don't need this kind of connection or remote management.

Remote management always (from what I can tell) comes at a cost - to the tester or to the insurance company, to frequently get bad, or obvious, dosing advice.

I don't know Roche's plans regarding the strips, but I suspect that if the new strips are backward compatible, we'll soon see the XS only strips retired and replaced with the newer strips that are compatible with the newer, and older, meters.

I suspect that Roche will continue to support the XS for many years - there are a lot of meters in use - and there may be government regulations about retiring or discontinuing meters. (But, FWIW, the CoaguChek S was discontinued, after a fair amount of publicity, a few years ago - the older meters were taken off the market and strips were discontinued.)

 

[pekster11]

Basically, today I found out something interesting. Roche has two slightly different versions of the XS PT strips, this apparently is related to the INRange series of devices. I went to order some more strips from my (online) provider (here in Australia) and found the following two products (at slightly different prices).

more complete details here:
https://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2023/04/pt-test-pst.html

yes that's right.
I have the INRange meter, and realised there are 2 (v similar looking) testing strips. I now get the ones specifically for the INRange meter (XS PT Test PST)
I did some comparison work between the two and found the XS PT Test gave an INR ratio 0.1-0.2 higher than the XS PT Test PST.

 

[Protimenow]

That's well within the acceptable margin of error for INR testing.
Were you able to use strips from the same lot in both meters?

I'm pretty sure that the PST strips are supposed to be backward compatible,

As long as you use the same code chip for test in both meters you should see similar results.

But. again. a small difference is insignificant.

 

[pekster11]

That's well within the acceptable margin of error for INR testing.
Were you able to use strips from the same lot in both meters?

I'm pretty sure that the PST strips are supposed to be backward compatible,

As long as you use the same code chip for test in both meters you should see similar results.

But. again. a small difference is insignificant.

I used both types of test strip in the INRange meter.
I had been using the XS PT Test strips for the first year I had the meter until I realised there were strips specific for the INRange meter.

The difference is trivial, so both strips are OK to use in the INRange meter imo

 

[pellicle]

I used both types of test strip in the INRange meter.
I had been using the XS PT Test strips for the first year

FWIW I've on many occasions tested "last of old first of new" when I open a new strip bottle. Most commonly I do this when (for instance) old was close to its use by date and the new bottle is more than a year from its use by date.

I've typically got < ±0.2 INR units different (sometimes same reading)