87 per cent positive response to DTR Medical Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch, proving its effectiveness in accurate diagnosis

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Outstanding feedback received from clinicians

DTR Medical’s Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch allowed 95 per cent of clinicians to take an average of two biopsies successfully at first use. The top jaw, 4x stronger than titanium, provides the instrument with first time sharpness, ensuring a high quality sample is always taken.

Clinicians are regularly reporting high levels of success when using the product. An analysis of 159 reports (post market surveillance and evaluation trial data since 2018) showed that overall, there has been an 87 per cent positive response from clinicians and consultants across the UK.

We have received an exceptional response about this product; “It’s excellent that you have improved the new jaw on the Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch, it is much stronger and removes previous issues we had taking a biopsy from a hardened cervix. It is great that you have taken our feedback on board and made this improvement to the instrument, thank you.” Helen Crookes, Senior Sister, Calderdale Royal Hospital.

Most striking was that 88 per cent of clinicians would recommend the DTR Medical Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch to a colleague. Following on from this, Louise Johnson, Nurse Colposcopist, University Hospital of Wales was quoted “Absolutely would recommend” when asked about the Biopsy Punch.

An emphasis on value-based healthcare

With this concept in mind, both patient recall and discomfort can be significantly reduced when using the Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch as well as decreasing the waiting time for new patient referrals. Consequently, for the healthcare provider value-based benefits are also experienced.

For instance, the detailed questionnaires found 83 per cent of biopsies taken were described as either good or very good meaning improved Pathology results first time. This increases the likelihood of positive outcomes for hospitals, leading to rapid diagnosis and therefore improving the overall welfare of patients.

The NHS England National tariffs state that a first Colposcopy appointments cost clinics an average of £159[1], with a single professional. In some cases where multiple professionals are required this sum can rise to £173[2]. However, if a sample is inadequate, damaged or simply can’t be used to provide an accurate diagnosis; patients will be recalled back to the hospital for a follow up appointment at a later date.

Continuing, funding provided to hospitals for a recalled patient is significantly less than their first meeting with the Colposcopist, so much that it doesn’t cover the basic running costs of the appointment. Therefore, not having to repeat the process of taking another biopsy to gain a better sample can save the hospital up to £99[3] each time. The Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch is proving to be the product of choice for getting a high quality sample at first use limiting the number of recalls.

Furthermore, more in depth clinician feedback looked at three areas when describing the functionality of the instrument, these included the quality of both the cut & biopsy taken, the similarity to description and the ease of removing the sample from the jaw. It was found that the total quantified at 86 per cent being described as either good or very good by clinicians and consultants in these respected areas.

Improving colposcopy practice

It is widely recognised that delays in clinics inflict a heavy financial burden on the NHS, it is calculated that every minute a clinic is delayed it costs the Government an average of £8.65[4]. The majority in Colposcopy are often caused when a reusable Biopsy Punch is blunted during both its prolonged use in theatre and the sterilisation process, making it inadequate to take a high quality sample for Pathology. This tends to increase the time an appointment takes with the Colposcopist, meaning they have to look for alternative Biopsy Punches they can use. This in itself is time consuming and can often cause an appointment to run over.

Another dilemma clinics face when they experience blunted reusable instruments is having to rearrange appointments to a different day. Often delayed Colposcopy tends to have a collateral effect, such problems cause morning visits to run into the afternoon and so on. Therefore, patients later in the day may be asked to come back at a later date due to them not being able to fit them in. For example, if 4 patients were not seen by colposcopy one day, this would cost the NHS upwards of £650[5].

After thorough evaluation, we can conclude that the Biopsy Punch can help to save the clinic costs as well as helping it to run as smoothly as possible.

Focus on environmental impact

It is in all our best interest to ensure environmental impact is kept to a minimum. As part of an ongoing collaborative project with a leading Welsh University, a pioneering technique, known as biorefining, was used to create new low carbon technologies for both our products and our packaging. The Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch was developed with environmental awareness in mind, 20 per cent of the handle is made from corn starch, a recycled material.

Following on from this, through using life cycle analysis it is proven that this product has 2.8 times less of an environmental impact than other alternatives in the market, such as the metal Tischler Cervical Biopsy Punch and Baby Tischler Cervical Biopsy Punch. This stems from a variety of factors from the lightweight recyclable handle to the instrument using a lot less metal than other alternatives in the market.

DTR Medical’s Biopsy Punch changing the direction of cervical cancer diagnosis

Since mid-2018, there has been a dramatic increase with a growing number of hospitals now using the DTR Medical Sterile Single-use Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch as their first-choice instrument, instead of traditional reusable alternatives. Colposcopy clinics in the UK report that Pathology laboratories are able to provide rapid diagnosis, usually with the first samples provided.

Each annum, demand for the Biopsy Punch grows. DTR Medical have experienced a 77 per cent increase in the global customer base of this instrument in the last three years. With a variety of hospitals using it as their first choice instrument as well as others who keep the instrument for more difficult cases, such as postmenopausal women and patients with a hardened cervix.

DTR Medical are fully aware of the growing strain and pressure being placed on our healthcare providers. We have made it our mission to support hospitals and clinics through delivering Single-use instruments that consistently produce both efficient and accurate health outcomes for patients and clinicians alike.

If you have not tried DTR Medical’s Cervical Rotating Biopsy Punch and require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at marketing@dtrmedical.com or call +44 (0) 1792 797910.

[1] NHS England. (2019). National Tariff 201819

[2] NHS England. (2019). National Tariff 201819

[3] NHS England. (2019). National Tariff 201819

[4] NHS England. (2019). National Tariff 201819

[5] NHS England. (2019). National Tariff 201819

Staff Writer