Leading diagnostic manufacturer and distributor, Axis-Shield UK will use Primary Care 2008 to unveil a unique handheld analyser which has the capacity to revolutionise the primary care market and dramatically reduce hospital emergency admissions.

i-STAT^® provides reliable, lab-accurate test results in minutes. This means effective, real-time monitoring of a range of debilitating illnesses, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) can, for the first time, take place within the community.

Measuring a range of parameters including blood gases, i-STAT^® enables respiratory nurses to monitor the status of COPD patients while they are with them. Informed decisions on accurate dosing, alterations to medication or the need for a patient to be hospitalised for further assessment can then be made at the point of care – reducing anxiety and inconvenience for patients.

By reducing the number of hospital emergency admissions or referrals, i-STAT^® also has the potential to deliver significant cost savings to PCTs. Each time a COPD patient is admitted as an emergency case, the associated financial impact is £2360^*. With approximately 1.5 per cent of the UK population affected by COPD^**, the illness is proving costly to the NHS and in 2003/04 the total cost of COPD related emergency admissions reached £253 million^***. In comparison, the cost of performing a blood gas analysis on i-STAT^® is around £4.50 with typical return on investment for the purchase of the handheld device achievable in under six months.

Sue Younghusband, marketing manager at Axis-Shield said, “The availability of diagnostic testing within the community is set to be a hot topic for 2008 and we’re really excited to be launching i-STAT^® to the primary care market. Reducing emergency admissions to hospitals is not just about saving money, it’s also about improving patient care. We’re confident i-STAT^® will help PCTs across the country realise both these goals by revolutionising the standard of testing they can provide in the community and the associated care of patients.

Continuing she said, “Portable diagnostic devices such as i-STAT^® are increasingly being recognised as an essential component of effective primary care. We’ve received positive feedback from a number of PCTs already using the device, and as such felt there was no better place to launch the technology to a wider audience than at Primary Care 2008.”

Using biosensor technology, i-STAT^® can also be used to measure electrolytes, chemistries, coagulation, haematology and cardiac markers, making it suitable to monitor some of the UK’s other most costly illnesses, including Congestive Heart Failure (CHF).

During Primary Care, Axis-Shield will also display its award-winning, compact analyser, Afinion^™. This robust and easy to use system is helping improve patient management across the UK by enabling on-the-spot testing for a wide variety of biochemical parameters including HbA1c, ACR, CRP and PT-INR.

With a unique failsafe system that ensures result integrity, Afinion^™ helps improve diagnosis and patient management of long term, chronic conditions. Proving popular in diabetic clinics for measuring HbA1c, Afinion^™ also improves patient convenience by eliminating the need for preliminary visits for blood samples.

If you are attending Primary Care 2008 and would like to arrange an interview with a spokesperson from Axis-Shield please contact Kim Bithel / Rachel Griffiths / Natalie Yates at the Axis-Shield press office on: 01223 884600 or by email at axis-shield@war.uk.com

FOOTNOTES:

* Reference for National Tariff: COPD emergency admission = £2360

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Managingyourorganisation/Financeandplanning/NHSFinancialReforms/DH_077279  

** Reference for percentage of population affected by COPD: according to data from the Quality Framework system in Primary Care

http://www.primarycaretoday.co.uk/?pid=4216&Isid=4328&edname=25271.htm&ped=25271

*** Reference for 2003/04 costs: Total cost of COPD emergency admissions = £253 million

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Pressreleases/DH_4131823

About Axis Shield

Axis-Shield UK is part of the Axis-Shield Group which develops, manufactures and distributes high quality, in-vitro diagnostic testing technologies that help improve healthcare and patient management. The company has a range of proprietary technologies and runs an active programme of development for new products that can be utilised across clinical laboratories, in hospitals or by Primary Care Trusts (PCT). The organisation manufactures key devices including Afinion^™ and Thrombotrack^™ and works with medical company Abbott to distribute i-STAT^® - a unique handheld analyser.

At the point-of-care (in hospitals or in the community), Axis-Shield’s novel, branded products can be used for the early, rapid and differential diagnosis and treatment of patients while they are present – ultimately speeding treatment times and helping to improve lives.

In the laboratory sector, Axis-Shield specialises in proprietary markers for the diagnosis and management of critical illnesses such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and rheumatoid arthritis.