A newly published quality improvement study shows how a simple intervention by health care providers reduced the number of older adult patients with type 2 diabetes at risk for hypoglycemia by almost 50% and led to de-escalation of diabetes medications that cause hypoglycemia in 20% of patients. Twenty percent of Americans aged 65 and older...
COVID-19 Vaccines and Hyperglycemia in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes
While proven to be safe, the COVID-19 vaccines could cause some people with type 1 diabetes to see their blood sugar to temporarily spike. The key for both patient and provider is to remain vigilant with glucose testing and insulin dosing post-jab to maintain glycemic control. In the summer of 2021, a 24-year-old woman presented...
Abbott announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a reader for its FreeStyle Libre® 3 integrated continuous glucose monitoring (iCGM) system, which features the world’s smallest, thinnest, and most discreet glucose sensor. With the FDA’s clearance of a standalone reader, Abbott is working to get the FreeStyle Libre 3 system added to Medicare’s...Glytec Announces Next Evolution of GlucoMetrics as Hospitals Prepare for New CMS Measures
Glytec today announced the next evolution of GlucoMetricsⓇ to provide new analytics, dashboards, and data visualizations that give hospitals and health systems new insight into glycemic outcomes. The enhanced visibility comes as hospitals prepare for new measures from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on severe hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia that encourage facilities to report metrics starting...
CMS Finalizes Proposal to Expand Coverage of Continuous Glucose Monitors
We are pleased to report the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized policy that will expand coverage of Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM) and incorporated Endocrine Society recommendations. The final local coverage determination (LCD) expands CGM coverage for all people with diabetes with any type or manner of insulin treatment. The policy also will...
Recent insulin price cuts are a dose of good news. In March, Eli Lilly lowered the price on its most popular insulins, with Novo Nordisk and Sanofi following suit shortly thereafter, but only after the $35 monthly price cap for people on Medicare that was mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act. Is this the...
Bigfoot Biomedical today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued 510(k) clearance for the Android version of the Bigfoot Unity® Mobile App, a necessary component of the Bigfoot Unity® Diabetes Management System. Given that 41 percent of U.S. smartphone users choose Android devices, this clearance enables expanded access to a large group...
Out of Practice: Why Retirement Doesn’t Always Mean You Stop Seeing Patients
When Endocrine Society past-president Richard J. Santen, MD, achieved “emeritus” status at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, he was far from being done with practicing medicine. That’s when he decided to continue seeing patients throughout southwest Virginia from the comfort of his home and with help from telehealth technology and the Federally Funded Community...
