Hi
@woollygal,
Very interesting question. The way I approached this is to take my meter to my GP's practice and I then took a meter reading right after bloods were taken for labs. This allowed my to compare my meter's readings to official blood tests. Turns out my meter was pretty accurate. Two times it was head-on and one time my meter read about 7 mg/dl (0.4 mmol) higher.
I guess basically you have to choices -- both have advantages and disadvantages. Either go for a meter with better accuracy and more expensive strips or go for the meter, where strips are less expensive, but the accuacy might not be quite as good. In the end, it probably depends on individual needs and preferences.