Barriers to CGM Adoption and the Ambulatory Glucose Profile
COVID-19 has tragically underscored the need for better tools and support to help people manage diabetes. Hyperglycemia increases susceptibility to infections, and diabetes and its complications and comorbidities are risk factors for severe COVID-19.
As a helpful step, earlier in the pandemic the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services loosened the requirements for receiving a CGM. The changes not only expanded access to CGM for many beneficiaries, but also reduced the work required by healthcare providers to prescribe the device.
In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the ‘tidal wave’ of CGM. The data make us confident that CGM will become the standard of care, driven in part by convenience (lack of fingersticks); improvements in cost, reimbursement and access; as well as the ability to avoid hypoglycemia and improve time in range. In our tracking studies of over 8,000 patients in the USA, Canada and Europe, we are seeing rapid growth that’s both patient- and healthcare provider-driven.
Today, in Part 2 of our exclusive series on continuous glucose monitoring, we’re diving deeper into the barriers to CGM adoption. We also discuss the use and value of the Ambulatory Glucose Profile, which can help people make sense of the wealth of data CGM provides.
