Agreed. But the standards only allow for fairly basic levels of
communication. The actual level of data transfer from different
suppliers' analysers/meters will depend not only on what the
company marketing the software is prepared to invest in its
development, but also on the level of information its competitors are
prepared to divulge about their equipment. Manufacturer X
assured me recently that their current software would interface
perfectly with Y's equipment; Y, however, disagreed!
Agreement of the connectivity standards has been a tremendous
achievement by all concerned, and while I believe they are likely to
be widely adopted by suppliers, my impression is that we are still
likely to get more functionality from the software developed by the
manufacturer of each analyser/meter. Which one you adopt overall
will be an important, and possibly difficult, strategic decision.
> Is everyone aware of the NCCLS POCT 1-A connectivity standards?
They have been adopted from the Connectivity Industry Consortium only
since November last year. Surely it makes sense to wait for a bit until
connectivity software is re-written with POCT 1-A in mind.
>
> It makes no sense to purchase multiple connectivity software specific
to each instrument manufacturer where in the near future, one version
may communicate with different manufacturer's meters.
>
> This is taken from the NCCLS http://www.nccls.org/approved.htm page:
>
________________________________________________
Dr MJ Pearson
Department of Clinical Biochemistry & Immunology
Old Medical School
Leeds General Infirmary (Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust)
LEEDS LS1 3EX
Tel 0113 392 3945
Fax 0113 233 5672
http://www.leedsteachinghospitals.com
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