Diagnosing Diabetes Mellitus: Performance of Hemoglobin A1c Point-of-Care Instruments in General Practice Offices

Abstract

A large proportion of GP offices using Afinion and DCA POC instruments to measure Hb A1c fulfill the analytical quality specifications for diagnosing diabetes mellitus, and these instruments demonstrate analytical quality comparable to that of hospital laboratory instruments. When GP offices participate in a stringent quality assurance program and generate Hb A1c measurements that meet analytical quality specifications, these measurements can be recommended for use to diagnose diabetes mellitus.