Diabetes Canada acknowledges the important announcement by the Saskatchewan Party that stated that if elected it would expand access to continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGM) to young adults living with diabetes up to 25 years and seniors 65 years and older. This is a good step to expanding access to CGM in the short term.
Diabetes Canada looks to all parties to address the critical role a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGM) can play in optimizing clinical outcomes, improving treatment satisfaction and enhancing the quality of life for many people living with diabetes, regardless of age.
Through accounts by people who live with diabetes, Diabetes Canada is aware of the many benefits of CGM technologies for glucose management, prevention of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) and addressing anxiety related to potential hypoglycemia, as well as overall feelings of anxiety and diabetes distress. CGM systems can:
- Support healthy behaviours and behaviour change and guide diabetes management strategies by providing data on the impact of things like food choices and exercise on blood glucose levels.
- Inform treatment decisions, including medication choice and dose adjustment.
- Promote safety from acute complications such as dangerously high or low blood glucose levels, as well as long-term complications of diabetes, including heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and lower limb amputations.
- Enhance virtual care by allowing health care providers to access uploaded data from a CGM.
- Empower people living with diabetes by providing knowledge of current and trending blood glucose levels to inform self-management decisions.
The totality of available evidence shows that CGM technologies to be transformative for many people living with diabetes. Diabetes Canada recommends that access be extended to all Canadians for whom these systems have been shown to provide positive benefit to their diabetes management, regardless of age. It is imperative that the following individuals have prompt access to CGM technologies:
- Any form of diabetes requiring insulin at high risk of severe hypoglycemia
- Type 1 and pregnant
- Type 2 requiring insulin while pregnant
- Gestational diabetes requiring insulin
Today, over 162,000 people in Saskatchewan live with diabetes and it results in $114 million in direct costs to the health care system. Improved access to CGM systems will reduce downstream diabetes-related costs by helping enhance health and quality of life for people with diabetes. Most importantly, expanding access to monitoring technologies, regardless of age, will save lives.