Buttonhole Needles: Medicsystems vs. JMS

[Hemodoc]

I have had the pleasure of buttonhole cannulation success for nearly 7 years with the Medisystems buttonhole needle. Recently, I moved to Idaho and took up with FMC instead of my Kaiser unit and they switched me to the JMS buttonhole needle. I started about a month ago and immediately didn't like the JMS but gave it a try. I find it is TOO sharp even though the tip is rounded, it has a very sharp cutting edge even on the rounded portion. I have had nothing but problems with the JMS and may have blown my wonderful venous buttonhole that worked well.

I brought it up today at my appt. and the nurse will get me the Medisystem and  see if she can get FMC to approve it specially.

Anyone else have issues with the JMS buttonhole system? Of note, the FMC units here use Medisystem in-center but JMS for home patients. Go figure, just one more example of how the for-profit units always give the home patients the worst supplies.

[Simon Dog]

FMC here in the DPRM (Democratic People's Republic of Massachusetts) use JMS for both home and in center patients.   I have not yet had any problems with the JMS 15 and butotnholes, however, I have never use Medisystems so I can't really compare.    Once nice thing about the Medisystems is you can unwrap them when doing your setup - something that is not advised with the JMS since the scab picker is not protected and you need to maintain sterility.   (very annoying when I was temporarily in-center and the tech "helped" by unwrapping the JMS blunts and setting the down in front of me).

[kporter85db]

Anyone else have issues with the JMS buttonhole system? Of note, the FMC units here use Medisystem in-center but JMS for home patients. Go figure, just one more example of how the for-profit units always give the home patients the worst supplies.

I can't speak to the Medisystem vs. JMS issue but I have nothing but glowing reports about my FMS home unit or in-center. My experience to in-center is limited to just about two weeks but they've been a good two weeks. I've got three years experience with the home unit.

I think a lot of it depends on the directing physician.

[Simon Dog]

I've had great luck with FMS as well.  If I email the medical director (who is also my doc) at 10PM on a weekend asking for medical advice, I know I will get a quick response.  I once emailed him on Yom Kippur (not evening noticing the holiday) and the message an hour later started out with "Sorry for the delay, but I had to wait for a break in temple services to respond".

As to needles - the FMS seem to be working nicely for me.  When I am a transient patient in a clinic, I bring my own in case the clinic does not have blunts or uses Medisystems (I've encountered both situations).   I don't have any reason to believe Medisystems is better, but I don't want to introduce an extra variable into treatment when traveling.