Are you suffering from diabetes? Did you know that monitoring the blood glucose level is the most vital step in treating and managing diabetes?

You must be thinking of visiting a hospital or a medical laboratory to do the blood tests.Well, thanks to the modern technology. You no longer need to visit the “laboratory” to do the blood glucose tests. You can check the blood glucose level in the comforts of your home or office. All you need is a glucometer.

Wondering which glucometer to buy?

On April 7, we celebrate the World Health Day. “Beat Diabetes” is this year’s theme! So I thought why not do a review of one of the most trusted and accurate blood glucometers available in the market. I’m talking about the Accu-Chek Performa glucometer. We shall see the unique features, pros, cons and steps on how to use this glucometer.

Features

• Accu-Chek® Performa requires no “setting up”. It can be used out of the box with the press of a single button. Coding of test strips are not required as compared to other glucometers like the Accu-Chek Active.
• Easy to use even for vision impaired diabetic patients. The 2 button navigation makes it super easy.
• Fast and accurate result in just 5 seconds.
• Memory function stores 500 test values.
• Displays the average test value for the last 7, 14, 30 or 90 days.
• Data transfer via Infrared to your computer allows you to keep a record of the blood glucose values and evaluate the trends.
• Ability to tag the values as pre or post meal. Pre and post meal test average values are also available.
• Large and easy to use “dosing area” on test strips.
• Customisable test reminders (like post-meal reminders).
• Warning signal when the blood sample obtained is insufficient.
• The Accu-Chek® Performa system meets the accuracy requirements of the new ISO 15197:2013 standard.

How to use the Accu-Chek Performa glucometer?

Using a glucometer is easy once you get over the fear of “blood”. Ideally the 4 basic steps of getting a blood glucose value includes :

1. Inserting the test strip, which automatically turns the meter “on”.
2. Obtaining the blood sample
3. Applying the blood sample to the yellow “dosing area” on the test strip, and
4. Reading the result on the large LCD screen.

I recommend you to watch this video for a detailed explanation on how to use the Accu-Chek Performa glucometer.

Pros

• The Accu-Chek Performa test strips requires “no coding”. This is unlike the Accu-Chek Active glucometer which requires “coding” of every new vial of test strips. This is big advantage considering the short expiration period of the test strips.
• One of the biggest benefit of this glucometer is the design of the unique lancing device. The softclix lancing device has been proven to be the most “painless” technology to be used in a lancing device. Additionally, there is no need to load single lancet every time before testing. A drum containing 6 lancets can be loaded easily which helps you prevent accidental pricks and waste time.
• Another big plus point of this glucometer is it’s ability to memorize the blood glucose values. Syncing the stored data from the device to your personal computer is also possible. This feature can be used by your doctor or healthcare provider to check the trend of your blood glucose variations. This can be a big advantage for your doctors in starting and maintain the right type of diabetes treatment.
• The test strips compatible with Accu-Chek Performa glucometers are easily available for both online and over the counter purchase.
• Weighing at just 59 grams (including the battery), the Accu-Chek Performa is lightweight and easy to carry around in your pocket!
• Auto power-off feature turns the device off if left undisturbed for two minutes.

Cons

• Priced at INR 1799, I can’t think of another “over-priced” glucometer!
• The package comes with 10 strips. But, keep in mind that an additional 100 strips will cost you around INR 900.
• The battery will last for an average of 6 months only (or 2000 measurements as claimed by the company).
• Additional 100 lancets will cost around 500 INR.
• I’ve personally found the Accu-Chek Active to give results closer to the laboratory values compared to the Performa.
• No “read aloud” feature.

Verdict

Buying a glucometer is a big step in the right direction if you are planning to take control of diabetes. Accu-Chek Performa glucometer will provide you accurate results, but at a higher cost compared to the other glucometers available in the market. It’s super easy to use and testing the blood glucose will become a one handed job in just a few days time.

I’ve already written a detailed hands-on review of the Accu-Chek Active glucomeer, the elder brother of Accu-Chek Performa.

If budget is your issue, check out other brands like OneTouch and Dr.Morepen. On the other hand, if budget is not an issue, and if you are planning to buy the glucometer for a hospital, go for the Accu Chek Active.

If you’re looking for a glucometer with USB support, check this sleek device from the healthcare giants Bayer.

Make the most out of every single drop of blood that you spill by using an accurate glucometer. I have been using this product for the past three months and I’m happy with it’s performance. I have many diabetic patients too who have been using this glucometer without any issues at their home.

You can buy the Accu-Chek Performa Diabetes kit starting at INR 1700 from Amazon by following the link below. If you find this review useful, do share it with your friends and family.

BUY the Accu-Chek Performa NOW!!!

Update: This product is not available in India as of July-1-2020