Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter has features to help you help your patients better manage their diabetes and make better sense of the numbers. Navigate to the tips section that interests you using the Table of Contents to the right, or scroll through them all for a more complete look at tips to manage your patient’s diabetes with Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter.
Getting Patients Started with Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB Meter
Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter has a permanent Rechargeable Battery. So, before they do anything else, patients should charge their battery by plugging Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter into a computer or the optional wall charger. The meter will briefly display “Do Not Test-Charging” and the test strip port light will flash. The charging time will depend on the USB port of the computer.
Patients should be sure their computer is turned on and not in sleep, hibernate or power saving mode before plugging in Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter.
Patients can use Quickstart for a faster setup before their first test so they can start using Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter sooner. For more information on Quickstart, download the User Guide.
Patients can automatically synch the date and time on Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter just by plugging it into a computer. It automatically synchs the date and time with that of their computer and will continue to synch time and date whenever there is at least a 30 minute difference between the meter and the computer.
USB Connection
It is recommended to use a high-power USB port to charge Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter. If the charging status displays “Low Power Charging,” patients should try a different USB port on their computer. Depending on the operating system low-power ports may indicate that the USB device has exceeded the power capacity of the port. If GLUCOFACTS® DELUXE does not appear within a minute or so, another port should be tried.
Their CONTOUR® USB meter contains approximately 500 MB of extra memory they can use to store personal diabetes files and information. It appears on their computer as a removable disk named “Contour USB” when they insert Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter into the USB port. They can use this memory while their battery is charging. When they read or write to the memory, the strip port light flashes quickly.
Test Strips
Patients should always keep the CONTOUR® test strips in the original bottle and tightly close the bottle immediately after removing a test strip. The bottle is designed to keep the test strips dry. Exposure to room humidity from leaving the bottle open or not storing them in the original bottle can damage their test strips.
Patients should not drop blood directly on the flat surface of the test strip. Their CONTOUR® test strips are with sip in sampling® to easily draw the right amount of blood with the sample tip.
Patients should not press the test strip against their finger. This may block the sample tip.
Patients should let the meter and test strips adjust to the temperature change as necessary. As a general rule, they should allow 20 minutes for the meter to adjust to the temperature of the new location before performing a blood glucose test. The products have been designed to give accurate results at temperatures between 41°F and 113°F.
Illuminated Test Strip Port
Patients can use the Illuminated Test Strip Port to test in low-light conditions. They can activate it by pressing the menu button twice while the meter is turned off. The test strip port light can be de-activated by pressing the menu button twice more.
Rechargeable Battery
Patients cannot test while the battery is charging (when Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB is plugged into a computer or the optional wall charger). When charging is finished, the test strip port light will turn off. They should unplug their CONTOUR® USB meter from Bayer to test.
If patients wish to test immediately after disconnecting from their computer, they should use the USB cable when connected to the computer, as USB ports in some computers and self-powered USB hubs can become much warmer than the room.
If the Battery is very low when they plug in their meter, it will Rapid Charge for about 1 minute. They can run a blood sugar test as soon as Rapid Charge is complete.
Patients can also charge their meter using an optional Wall Charger. For more information, they can call Customer Service at 1-800-348-8100.
AutoLog
With AutoLog your patient marks results as Before/After Meal, with just one button press during the 5 second test time.
AutoLog helps you and your patients associate results with patients’ prandial state. This helps organize testing Trends, making testing even more valuable and meaningful
Your patients’ meters come with AutoLog turned on. Encourage them to keep this feature turned on to get the most benefit from their meter.
When AutoLog is ON, a result will not appear unless marked as Before Meal, After Meal, or No Mark unless the result is above or below the set target range or outside the meter range. In this case, AutoLog is overridden in order to display test information promptly.
If AutoLog is on and patients were not able to mark it before the high or low alert appeared in 5 seconds, they should press the Notes button. Then they may select Before Meal, After Meal or No Mark by pressing the button next to it.
Target Ranges
You can help your patients determine their Target Ranges. Discuss it at their next visit.
Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter comes preset with 70–130 mg/dL for Before Meal testing and 70–180 mg/dL for After Meal testing.
These target ranges can be changed on the meter within the following parameters: (50-99 mg/dL)-(89-300 mg/dL).
Trends
Viewing your patients’ testing trends can tell you the average blood sugar level of their test results in a certain time period, which can give you an idea of their overall control for that time. The default trend period is 14 days. Patients can change averages to 7 or 30 days using GLUCOFACTS® DELUXE diabetes management software.
Teaching patients how to use their before and after meal blood sugar averages may be a simple way to help patients take action and achieve better control of their diabetes. If before and after meal averages are in their target range, you both can feel more confident about efforts to manage their blood sugar. If one or the other is out of their target range, you can look at their logbook to pinpoint trouble spots you might want to discuss.
Reminders
Patients can set a Reminder on Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter so they remember to test — anytime, anywhere.
You can decide the best times for your patients to test so you get the most useful information to discuss together.
Certain error messages and the Reminder bell will override the Sound Off setting, so patients can still receive Reminders when they’ve selected Sound Off.
If the reminder is turned on the default setting is 2 hours. The default setting can be changed in 15 minutes increments. If the patient changes the setting, future reminders will default to the last reminder time that was used.
Notes
Patients can add more relevance to results with a Note explaining unique circumstances related to their test results.
After the large result screen disappears, patients may add additional Notes by repeating the “Adding Notes” steps from the Results screen. Multiple notes will scroll across the bottom so that they can read them all to make their selection.
Caring for Their Meter
If your patients use a cable, they should use the one provided in their meter kit.
The USB cap of Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter is designed to protect the USB port. Should they lose the cap, they can call 1-800-348-8100 for a replacement.
Patients should use the optional USB cable if their USB port is not accessible or if they intend to test right after charging.
Viewing Your Patients’ Results
On your computer with the correct system requirements for Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB meter.
System Requirements:
Windows: Windows®, XP SP3, Vista® SP2
Mac: OS® X v10.5.7 (Intel® 64 bit processors only)
Patients should only connect to a computer or charger that is certified to UL 60950-1.
Patients can print their reports (to take to their appointment) or download a PDF (to e-mail you) using GLUCOFACTS® DELUXE. You will see testing trends and other details that will help you work with them to better manage their diabetes.
Meter Registration
Please encourage patients to register their CONTOUR® USB meter from Bayer so they can download the latest software updates for their meter.
Service
If you and your patients have a problem and none of the problem solving messages on the meter help, they should call Bayer Diabetes Care Customer Service. In the USA, they can call toll free: 1-800-348-8100 (7 days a week/24 hours a day). We have trained specialists to help.
Patients can speak to a Bayer Diabetes Care Customer Service Representative before returning their meter for any reason. He/she will give them the information needed to get their problem handled correctly and efficiently. Please have patients have Bayer’s CONTOUR® USB blood glucose meter and CONTOUR® test strips available when they phone. It would also be helpful to have a bottle of CONTOUR® control solution nearby.
Check List: This check list may be helpful when patients are speaking with Bayer Diabetes Care Customer Service::
1. Locate the model number (A) __________ and serial number (B) __________ on the back of the meter.
2. Locate the test strips’ expiration date __________ on the bottle.
3. Check the battery symbol on the screen. (See page 50, Battery Status Displays and Charging.)