Healthy.io Urine ACR Information for patients - home testing

Having diabetes increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, eye disease and kidney disease. With regular checks, you can reduce the risk of any of these complications.

We are working with a company called Healthy.io that provides patients with diabetes a kit to test their kidney function from home.

As you know, as part of your diabetes annual review, you should have a simple urine test. This test looks at your urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR). The ACR test checks your kidney function by looking for particles of protein in your urine called albumin. If there is albumin in your urine, this means you are at increased risk of kidney disease and heart disease. If this is picked up at an early stage, you can be put on medication that will reduce your risk of any complications.

The test is really easy to do and only requires a smartphone and a kit that will be sent to your home.

To find out more about kidney disease or the test, click HERE. For further information on how your data is processed, see our Privacy Notice. 

To find out about all the other checks you need to have in your diabetes review please go to https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/15-healthcare-essentials.

We will contact you if your results are out of range.

Abnormal results for home ACR - next stage: lab testing

If your home result shows as abnormal, we will ask you to do another test, but we will send the sample to the lab instead. If this is the case, we will text you a link to this page. If you are reading this page because you have received a text to say your results of the home ACR were out of range, please follow these instructions:

• Collect a sample form, bag and white lidded urine specimen bottle from reception - the form will be on your notes for the receptionist to print off
• Write your name, address, date of birth, NHS number (you can get this from the form), and date and time of the sample on the bottle
• The sample must be the first time you wee in the morning
• Make sure the lid is on well, put the sample bottle in the sealed part of the bag, and the folded form into the other part of the back
• Bring back to reception on the same day (Monday to Friday) before 2pm.
• Check your results on your medical record online if you have access, or call us one week after the sample is given in for the results.

If the results are normal, you will be asked to repeat the home ACR again within the next year. If the results are abnormal, the GP will follow up with you.

For more information on these tests, please go to https://labtestsonline.org.uk/tests/urine-albumin-creatinine-ratio-or-acr.

If you wish to opt-out of this service, please send us a message via the Contact Us Form.

We will write to our patients for consent before sharing your details with Healthy.io. For the year 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022, the closing date to opt-out of this service is Friday 14th January 2022. Following this date, Healthy.io will be in contact with you directly to arrange your test kit.