The study breaks down barriers to continuous glucose monitoring in primary care clinics

The study breaks down barriers to continuous glucose monitoring in primary care clinics

A new study from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus shows that primary care clinics can successfully help patients use continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), which track blood glucose levels in real time.

The study was published today inBMC - primary care.

In the study, 76 primary care practices in Colorado examined two different approaches to getting the practice to use continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) with their patients. Some practices chose a self-guided option using educational tools developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, while others referred patients to a virtual CGM initiation service operated by a team of primary care health professionals who were part of the research team. Practices with in-house diabetes care and education specialists, formerly known as diabetes educators, were more likely to choose the self-guided route, while those without specialists preferred the study's virtual service. Aside from this difference, practices were largely similar.

This is great news for people with diabetes, especially those who don't have easy access to a diabetes specialist. It shows that novel approaches can be developed to share resources, including diabetes and education specialists, to establish patients with CGM and then transition them into their primary care practice. “

Kimberly Wiggins, MA, Med, senior author of the study and an instructor in family medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine

One of the unique parts of this study was that it was “Primary Care Helping Primary Care”, all health professionals who were part of the virtual CGM initiation service were primary care based.

CGMs are small devices that track a person's blood sugar day and night. They reduce or eliminate the need for finger prick checks and help people better understand how food, physical activity, stress and medications affect their blood sugar. This can lead to better health, fewer complications and a better quality of life.

Despite these benefits, less than half of primary care physicians in the United States have ever prescribed a CGM.

“Our goal was to find practical approaches to help offer CGMs to their patients” [TO1] in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. "We found that both methods worked. Even clinics without in-house diabetes experts were able to successfully offer CGM using the remote option."

“This is particularly helpful for people who cannot see a diabetes specialist because they live in rural areas, experience insurance challenges or face long wait times,” Oser said. "This approach gives more people access to life-changing technology that is now the standard of care for many people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, no matter where they live or what type of clinic they go to. This is another big step in better care for the 38 million people living with diabetes in the United States."

The study is part of a larger effort to find ways to make diabetes care more available and effective through primary care clinicians, rather than relying solely on subspecialists. Researchers hope this will lead to wider use of CGMs, making it easier for people to reach their diabetes management goals.

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