Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Special Populations—Benefits and Barriers
5:15 p.m. Friday
N-Hall E (North, Exhibition Level)
It is easy to see the benefit of CGM use in my educated and empowered Beverly Hills patients, but it is much harder to translate those benefits to my patients in East Los Angeles with fewer resources and lower numeracy and health literacy skills. They often come to me with very high glucose levels and high variability that mirror their complex and stressful life situations.
Technology alone is not the answer; progress requires persistent, incremental treatment changes over time that can also fit into the patient’s life.
There are also barriers to obtaining the devices. In the U.S., the CGM companies gear their marketing to English-speaking insured patients with skill navigating the insurance and prescription process.
Despite all of these barriers, with proper support in a culturally sensitive program, we find that CGM technology can decrease diabetes distress and sometimes improve glucose control.
This Special Population talk is part of a larger symposium on the Pains and Gains in Continuous Glucose Monitoring with talks by Roy W. Beck, MD, PhD, Davida F. Kruger, MSN, APN-BC, BC-ADM, and Anders L. Carlson, MD.