Freestyle Libre Now Available In Major Us Pharmacies
FreeStyle Libre Now Available in Major US Pharmacies Abbotts no-calibration CGM availableat pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens for a cash price ranging from about $36-$53/10-day sensor; get cost and prescription details here Two months after approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Abbotts FreeStyle Libre (real time) continuous glucose monitor (CGM) is now on the shelves of major pharmacies in the US, including CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Rite Aid, and Krogers/Smiths. The long awaited sensor finally comes to the US more than three years after it launched in Europe. Here are all the details on how to get one and what it costs. A prescription is required to get FreeStyle Libre in the US, and Abbotts website has a helpful prescription request form after filling it out with your information, Abbott will actually request a prescription from your healthcare provider. To help start a conversation with your provider, Abbott also has a discussion guide . Healthcare professionals can also visit Provider.FreeStyleLibre.us . How much does FreeStyle Libre cost? Does it have insurance coverage? US insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid do not yet cover FreeStyle Libre in the US, meaning people with diabetes will need to pay cash for it in pharmacies. Abbott has made the cash price of FreeStyle Libre less than other systems both for individual sensors and for the reader devices. Below are the price ranges at major pharmacies we called. In our research, FreeStyle Libre is the least expensive at Walmart, where each 10-day sensor is $35.99, and each reader device (one time purchase) is $69.99. Please note that diaTribe contacted individual pharmacies to get this information; prices at your local pharmacy may differ. 10-day Libre Sensor - $52.99 each (about $159 per month) 10 Continue reading >>
- Abbott's Revolutionary Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, FreeStyle Libre, Now Available To Medicare Patients - Jan 4, 2018
- Abbott Secures Health Canada License for FreeStyle Libre System for People with Diabetes
- No More Routine Finger Sticks(1) for Americans with Diabetes: Abbotts FreeStyle Libre Approved in the U.S.
The Cost-effectiveness Of Continuous Glucose Monitoring In Type 1 Diabetes
Go to: Abstract Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has been found to improve glucose control in type 1 diabetic patients. We estimated the cost-effectiveness of CGM versus standard glucose monitoring in type 1 diabetes. This societal cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) was conducted in trial populations in which CGM has produced a significant glycemic benefit (A1C ≥7.0% in a cohort of adults aged ≥25 years and A1C <7.0% in a cohort of all ages). Trial data were integrated into a simulation model of type 1 diabetes complications. The main outcome was the cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. RESULTS During the trials, CGM patients experienced an immediate quality-of-life benefit (A1C ≥7.0% cohort: 0.70 quality-adjusted life-weeks [QALWs], P = 0.49; A1C <7.0% cohort: 1.39 QALWs, P = 0.04) and improved glucose control. In the long-term, CEA for the A1C ≥7.0% cohort, CGM was projected to reduce the lifetime probability of microvascular complications; the average gain in QALYs was 0.60. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was $98,679/QALY (95% CI −60,000 [fourth quadrant] to −87,000 [second quadrant]). For the A1C <7.0% cohort, the average gain in QALYs was 1.11. The ICER was $78,943/QALY (15,000 [first quadrant] to −291,000 [second quadrant]). If the benefit of CGM had been limited to the long-term effects of improved glucose control, the ICER would exceed $700,000/QALY. If test strip use had been two per day with CGM long term the ICER for CGM would improve significantly. Long-term projections indicate that CGM is cost-effective among type 1 diabetic patients at the $100,000/QALY threshold, although considerable uncertainty surrounds these estimates. Continue reading >>
How Much Does Continuous Glucose Monitoring Cost?
back to Overview Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) cost and insurance coverage. Does that phrase make your head spin? These were hot issues in response to our last article where I asked about your experience with CGMs. Like anything we’re considering, the financial impact is a big part of the decision-making process. But because the cost depends so much on your insurance coverage, it can be confusing to find out how much you’ll end up paying. And maybe it’s just me, but I don’t like talking to my health insurance company. It feels complicated and I’m rarely confident in the information I get. Additionally, the information changes depending on when during the benefit year I call. What’s the importance of a benefit year? Typically (in the U.S.), health insurance policies are done on an annual basis, and things like deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, which act like thresholds, are reset. You’ll usually find your cost to be lower later in the benefit year after they’ve been met (even $0 in some cases). For many, the benefit year is the same as a calendar year, so the end of the year might be a smart time to ask about your coverage again. You might be in for a pleasant surprise for the holidays! More to consider? We also have to keep in mind that each employer’s policy can be different, even with the same insurance company. So even though you and your neighbor both have health insurance from the same company, your individual coverage may be different because you work for different employers. An opportunity? But rather than thinking of all this complexity as a barrier and feeling intimidated by it, I believe it creates an opportunity to leverage companies like Dexcom. They have people whose full-time jobs are to dive into our insurance plans and uncov Continue reading >>
Newsflash: Dexcom's Next-gen "platinum" Cgm Approved By Fda!
Bye bye, oval-shaped Dexcom Seven Plus continuous glucose monitor! Hello, next generation Dexcom G4 Platinum CGM that's sleeker, more accurate and for sure looks more like an iPhone than a medical device (!) Today, San Diego, CA-based Dexcom issued a news release announcing that its much-anticipated Dexcom G4 (generation 4) Platinum device has received FDA approval. Here is the FDA approval letter, and a regulatory agency overview of the approval. Along with the rest of the D-community, we've been watching anxiously for this for some time, especially after Dexcom filed with FDA in late March 2012 and the device launched in Europe over the summer. Now, the U.S. approval comes in less than 180 days — way to go on a speedy review process, FDA! Dexcom CEO Terry Gregg says this record-time approval from the FDA on Friday caught the company by surprise, especially since many employees were overseas attending the EASD conference in Berlin. Gregg says that U.S. customers can start placing orders immediately and the new CGM will start shipping to new customers in just 10 days. So what's different from the Dexcom Seven Plus? With the diameter of a human hair, the sensor is 60% smaller but, as before, provides updates every five minutes for up to 7 days. Clinical trial data shows that it's roughly 19% more accurate overall, and as much as 30% more accurate when blood sugars are in the "hypo-range" less than 70 mg/dL. That is HUGE, IMHO. Now, the egg-shaped receiver is replaced with a rectangle-shaped device reminiscent of an iPad Nano. The controls are laid out in an Apple-esque circle with the main button in the middle. A longer CGM sensor transmission range from the previous five feet to as much as 20 feet! (Hallelujah for people like me, who kept walking out of range all the Continue reading >>
Professional Continuous Glucose Monitoring Could Cut Costs For Idns
Professional Continuous Glucose Monitoring Could Cut Costs for IDNs According to recent research presented at the American Diabetes Associations 77th Scientific Sessions, adopting a professional continuous glucose monitoring could significantly improve diabetes management and cut per-patients costs for integrated delivery networks (IDNs). Professional continuous glucose monitoring reveals glucose patterns and trends that may not be apparent from HbA1c or self-monitoring of blood glucose, Shengsheng Yu, PhD, manager of global market access and pricing at Abbott Diabetes Care, wrote in her presentation. Previous studies suggested professional continuous glucose monitoring reduces HbA1c and hypoglycemia in insulin users through more informed clinical decision-making. However, high equipment costs and workflow challenges of existing technology have prevented wide adoption. The researchers studied the effectiveness of the FreeStyle Libre Pro professional continuous glucose monitoring system. The FreeStyle Libre Pro system has been designed to overcome these barriers, she wrote. Compared with existing technology, it is simpler to use, requires little patient involvement with fully disposable factory calibrated sensors, monitors multiple patients with a single reader, and captures up to a 14-day glucose profile. The researchers conducted interviews at eight endocrinologists offices in order to determine clinical workflow. They then used published literature to estimate the cost savings associated with professional continuous glucose monitoring use. Study results showed that the professional continuous glucose monitoring system could reduce both HbA1c levels and hypoglycemia events in IDN patients, resulting in a per-patient per-year cost reduction of $56.42 and $24.73 for eac Continue reading >>
The Cost-effectiveness Of Real-time Continuous Glucose Monitoring (rt-cgm) In Type 2 Diabetes
We used the validated IMS CORE Diabetes Model (CDM), which has been broadly applied.15,16 The CDM is a non-product-specific computer simulation model. The simulations predict the long-term health outcomes and costs of particular interventions for type 1 and/or type 2 diabetes. In this case, the intervention is short-term, intermittent use of RT-CGM versus self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) by fingerstick among people with type 2 diabetes not taking prandial insulin. Data that inform the probabilities of events (such as hypoglycemia, amputation, a myocardial infarction, etc.), the progression of A1C, systolic blood pressure, lipids, and appropriate risk adjustments are derived from the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS), the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), the Framingham Heart Study, and other sources. The CDM simulates disease progression in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and is widely used to estimate the impact of interventions on clinical and cost outcomes, as well as a range of economic analyses (cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, cost-benefit or cost of disease). It can also be used to identify potential high-risk patient profiles. The outputs of the model include life expectancy (LE), quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE), direct and indirect costs, cumulative incidence and time to onset of complications, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios per additional life year (LY) or quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. The characteristics of the cohort simulated by the CDM to predict the long-term health outcomes and costs of RT-CGM for people with type 2 diabetes not taking prandial insulin are based on the study by Vigersky and colleagues.9-11 Briefly, it was a 52-week, prospective, 2-arm RCT in 100 adult subjects compari Continue reading >>
Continuous Glucose Monitoring: Everything You Need To Know
Continuous glucose monitors or CGMs can be a lifesaving device for people with any type of diabetes. They continually check your blood sugar 24 hours a day and alert you you before you begin experiencing low or high blood sugar levels. They can reduce the number of times you have to check your blood sugar each day which is welcome news for everyone with diabetes! Insurance coverage is changing this year with Medicare jumping on board also, so this is the time to learn about this awesome piece of technology available to you. I know there are a lot of questions surrounding the use of continuous glucose monitoring, so we will break it all down here for you! What is a CGM and how does it work? Is it right for me? Will I still have to check my blood sugar? What choices do I have currently on the market? Will my insurance cover a CMG? How much will it cost? Can I travel and play sports with a CGM? In this article I will answer all your questions. What Is Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)? A continuous glucose monitoring system or CGM is a system that does just what it sounds like, it monitors you glucose (blood sugar) continuously…well, every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day! You are able to see what your blood sugars are with a receiver; the data is transmitted from a sensor which is inserted right beneath your skin which is attached to a transmitter which sends the data to the receiver. Now, the newest system are even integrated with a Smartphone; with this advancement you can check your data right from your cell phone. For parents with children, this technology is peace of mind, allowing them to check their child’s blood glucose level any time-day or night. There are two different types of systems: The first is a personal continuous glucose monitoring system that you wear a Continue reading >>
If I Knew Then: Continuous Glucose Monitoring – Dexcom.
I tried my first CGM system back in 2006 (this post outlines the very first awkward sensor application) and have spent the last seven years or so being thankful that this technology exists. If I knew then what I know now … actually, I started on a CGM as quickly as I could, and stayed on it. Why I wanted a CGM is an easy question to answer, but there are a few things I wish I had known before starting out: I wish I had known that some of the sensors would hurt. So many diabetes devices are branded with “pain-free!” and “barely feel it!” advertising taglines, which I think is crap. We’re talking about a needle that pierces your skin and leaves a wire behind, underneath your skin, for a week at a time. To think that every sensor will glide under your skin with barely a whisper is bullshit. Some of the sensors hurt like hell when they go through my skin, and sometimes it takes an hour, or a day, for the site to settle down and not feel so tender. But most often, it is a reasonably quick pinch and then reasonably painless for the duration of the wear. Your mileage may vary with each and every sensor. I wish I had known the data would be addictive at first. The first time I wore a Dexcom sensor, it was back in 2006 and was one of the first marketed versions of the system. But I was hooked on the data. I looked at the receiver every five minutes and went bonkers trying to make sense of the trends. The trouble was that the readings were far less accurate back on the Dexcom STS, but I took them as seriously as the numbers on my glucose meter. For the first few weeks of wearing the Dexcom, I drowned in data, obsessively checking it and chasing slight blood sugar climbs with aggressive correction boluses. I needed to learn to let the data flow into my management, not Continue reading >>
Continuous Glucose Monitoring
With Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM), you get a more complete picture of your glucose levels, which can lead to better treatment decisions and better glucose control. Without diabetes, your body tracks glucose levels all day and night to ensure the right amount of insulin is released at the right time. To successfully manage diabetes, a monitoring system is needed to consistently check your glucose levels. The most common glucose monitoring solutions are blood glucose meters and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems. Sensor overtape not shown in depiction How Does CGM Work? CGM is a way to measure glucose levels in real-time throughout the day and night. A tiny electrode called a glucose sensor is inserted under the skin to measure glucose levels in tissue fluid. It is connected to a transmitter that sends the information via wireless radio frequency to a monitoring and display device. The device can detect and notify you if your glucose is reaching a high or low limit. The latest Medtronic CGM systems can actually alert you before you reach your glucose limits. CGM systems usually consist of a glucose sensor, a transmitter, and a small external monitor to view your glucose levels. MiniMed insulin pumps have built-in CGM so the information can be conveniently seen on your pump screen. The CGM monitor or insulin pump is small, discreet, and easy-to-wear. It can be attached to your belt, hidden in your pocket, or placed under your clothing. This component will show your current glucose levels and your historical glucose trends. It also notifies you before you reach your low or high glucose limits and if your glucose level rises or falls too quickly. The CGM transmitter is a small, lightweight device that attaches to the glucose sensor, gathers your glucose data, Continue reading >>
Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems
Diabetes Forum The Global Diabetes Community Find support, ask questions and share your experiences. Join the community Hi, just wondering if anyone has had any experience using these? Hi, I do, but only on a trial basis. There are a few people I think who use them long term, hopefully they'll be along at some point to help you. Donnely'sdogs (think that's how you spell it) has funded CGM & uses the Abbott system, someone called Ali has NHS funded Medtronic CGM with a Medtronic insulin pump. I've just finished a trial with the Animas Vibe pump & dexcom CGMS, and found it very good. I got 2 sensors given to me by Animas, the first lasted a good 13 days then started being inaccurate at times so I took it out at day 14. As my skin looked in really good nick after having it in for that long, I left the 2nd sensor in until it actually failed, which was at 18 days exactly. I'd noticed quite a few inaccurate readings from about day 14-15 though, so I reckon you'd probably get 2weeks good use out of a sensor. Again my skin was in great condition, no signs infection. The sensors are quite small, easy to insert & feel well anchored to my skin, though I did use extra stuff to keep them in for so long. You can't feel them at all, and mine were really very accurate - I'd get the odd reading of maybe 20% out but they were usually within 10% of my finger stick tests. One good thing about the Dexcom system is that you can calibrate whether your BG is rising, falling or stable - the Medtronic one requires a stable BG, so you couldn't calibrate soon after a meal for example. I'm going to get a 2 sensor trial with the Medtronic system on Jan 31st as well, so will know more how they compare after that. I think it cost me around 1300 for the trial unit with two sensors for two weeks, if re Continue reading >>
Cost Calculation For A Flash Glucose Monitoring System For Uk Adults With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Receiving Intensive Insulin Treatment
Cost calculation for a flash glucose monitoring system for UK adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus receiving intensive insulin treatment Author links open overlay panel RichardHellmunda Flash monitoring is affordable in UK patients with T1DM using intensive insulin. Costs of flash monitoring may be offset by reductions in severe hypoglycaemia. Flash monitoring may be cost saving for patients requiring frequent glucose tests. Flash monitoring typically leads to improved adherence to monitoring guidelines. To estimate the costs associated with a flash glucose monitoring system as a replacement for routine self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) using intensive insulin, from a UK National Health Service (NHS) perspective. The base-case cost calculation was created using the maximum frequency of glucose monitoring recommended by the 2015 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines (410 tests per day). Scenario analyses considered SMBG at the frequency observed in the IMPACT clinical trial (5.6 tests per day) and at the frequency of flash monitoring observed in a real-world analysis (16 tests per day). A further scenario included potential costs associated with severe hypoglycaemia. In the base case, the annual cost per patient using flash monitoring was 234 (19%) lower compared with routine SMBG (10 tests per day). In scenario analyses, the annual cost per patient of flash monitoring compared with 5.6 and 16 SMBG tests per day was 296 higher and 957 lower, respectively. The annual cost of severe hypoglycaemia for flash monitoring users was estimated to be 221 per patient, compared with 428 for routine SMBG users (based on 5.6 tests/day), corresponding to a reduction in costs of 207. The flash monitoring syst Continue reading >>
- Relative effectiveness of insulin pump treatment over multiple daily injections and structured education during flexible intensive insulin treatment for type 1 diabetes: cluster randomised trial (REPOSE)
- Continuous Versus Flash Glucose Monitoring To Reduce Hypoglycemia In Type 1 Diabetes
- Type 2 Diabetes Remission With Intensive Treatment
Why Perfectly Healthy People Are Using Diabetes Monitors
TIME Health For more, visit TIME Health. For about a month, Tabb Firchau, an entrepreneur living in Seattle, has been wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a federally approved medical device that tracks blood sugar levels for people with diabetes. The CGM patch has a small needle that probes the inside of his arm, and a sensor that tracks changes to his blood sugar in real-time. The data is then sent to his smartphone. Firchau bought his CGM off eBay for about $300. “I track almost everything, from sleep to exercise,” says Firchau. “I’ve been trying to learn why some days I feel fantastic, and other days I don’t. I had a cinnamon roll recently and my blood glucose doubled in 60 minutes. The monitor helps you understand the costs of the decisions you are making.” He couldn’t get one from his doctor, because Firchau doesn’t actually have diabetes. Rather, he’s part of a small but growing group of people who are wearing CGMs to track—and then hack—what goes on in their own bodies. And if enterprising startups like Sano Intelligence, which Gizmodo wrote about in February, are successful, a CGM marketed to the general public may not that be far off. A healthy person wearing a diabetes device may seem odd, but in the quantified-self movement, people like Firchau say it makes sense to track their blood sugar, especially given all the recent attention to the risks associated with overconsumption of sugar and processed carbohydrates, like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Everyone’s blood sugar levels change throughout the day, and especially after they eat, but those fluctuations are important to track for people with diabetes, since their body doesn’t regulate blood sugar on its own. For people without diabetes, however, the pancreas natura Continue reading >>
Comparison Of Continuos Glucose Monitoring Systems (cgms)
Which CGM is the best? At DiabetesLab, we analyzed your opinions, and here is a summary. Accuracy of different systems CGM accuracy is measured as MARD (mean absolute relative difference between CGM readings and blood glucose readings). This is an error metric – lower MARD is better. CGM system MARD Dexcom G5 Dexcom 505 AP (USA) 9% officially 1 Dexcom G4 original algorithm 13.00% officially 2 12.60% in the test by IDS Medtronic Enlite 13.60% officially 3 18.66% in a test by IDS Abbott Freestyle Navigator 2 11% officially Abbott Freestyle Libre 11,4% 4 References: 1 J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2015 Mar;9(2):209-14. doi: 10.1177/1932296814559746. Epub 2014 Nov 3. 2 Diabetes Technol Ther. 2013 Oct;15(10):881-8. doi: 10.1089/dia.2013.0077. Epub 2013 Jun 18. 3 Diabetes Technol Ther. 2014 May;16(5):277-83. doi: 10.1089/dia.2013.0222. Epub 2014 Apr 7. 4 Diabetes Technol Ther. 2015 Nov;17(11):787-94. doi: 10.1089/dia.2014.0378. Epub 2015 Jul 14. Dexcom G4 and G5 With the latest algorithm update, Dexcom became the most accurate CGM system on the market. FDA-approved sensor life is 7 days, but most people would restart sensor when it expires it tends to track accurately on the 2nd and 3rd week.The most recent version of the system, Dexcom G5, is already shipping in the Unites States and the United Kingdom. There is a new app Dexcom Clarity which spots glucose insights. G5 has features such as displaying CGM data directly on a smartphone, without having to keep a Dexcom receiver around. Data can be transmitted to iOS devices and Apple watches (USA) or a variety of other devices worldwide thanks to Nightscout‘s do-it-yourself projects. There are still things to tweak in G5; here is a review. Current versions available on the market: Dexcom G4 Platinum, a classic stand-alone system, Continue reading >>
Abbotts Freestyle Libre Approved In Us To Replace Routine Fingersticks
Abbotts FreeStyle Libre Approved in US to Replace Routine Fingersticks Launch by end of 2017 in major pharmacies at lower price than other CGMs; No fingerstick calibration needed, 10-day wear, 12-hour warmup The FDA and Abbott finally announced long-awaited US approval of the FreeStyle Libre real-time flash glucose monitoring system. In the US, it is approved for adults with diabetes only. Like the international version, the FreeStyle Libre sensor is considered a replacement for fingersticks it does not require any daily fingerstick calibrations and real-time readings and trends can be used for insulin dosing. FreeStyle Libre will be available in major retail pharmacies across the US by the end of the year ( sign up for updates here ). The cash price without insurance will be far less expensive than other sensors we expect it will be sold for around $120 per month for three sensors, and each reader will be around $60 (one-time purchase). Were not sure how FreeStyle Libre will be reimbursed by insurance, and if it is, what the out-of-pocket spending will be. In the US, FreeStyle Libre has three notable changes: A much longer 12-hour warmup after insertion. Outside the US, FreeStyle Libre is 14-day wear, 1-hour warmup, and does not need a prescription see our 2015 test drive here . The longer warm-up period is definitely the biggest change it means when a new sensor is inserted, FreeStyle Libre will not show any real-time glucose data for the first 12 hours. During this time, users will go back to fingersticks. One option is to put a sensor on just before bed, which will get through much of the 12-hour warm-up for those who sleep close to eight hours or more per night. Another workaround is for users to buy two reader devices, alternate using them, and overlap sensor wea Continue reading >>
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre – Transforming Glucose Monitoring Through Utter Simplicity, Fingersticks Aside!
by Adam Brown and Kelly Close Twitter Summary: Wearing Abbott’s #FreeStyleLibre, a 14-day sensor intended to replace glucose meters, but provide CGM-like info; now available in Europe In October, Abbott launched its highly awaited FreeStyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring system in Europe. The unique product is intended as a replacement for blood glucose meters, while giving patients many of the benefits of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), including real-time glucose values, trend information and comprehensive reports. Though it is not yet approved in the US, we were able to test the product over the past month (the device can only be ordered online from websites in Europe). Given what we had heard from so many European bloggers, we had high expectations going into our test, and FreeStyle Libre absolutely met them at every step – the system was easy to setup and use (a major win for healthcare providers); discreet to wear on the upper arm; accurate enough from which to dose insulin, with performance similar to Dexcom’s G4 Platinum CGM (though no fingersticks were required); and it gave an excellent picture of glucose trends through real-time and on-device reports. In short, it is transformative compared to the limited information provided by traditional blood glucose meters, all in a package anyone can pick up and learn to use. We give FreeStyle Libre an emphatic thumbs up and would recommend it to nearly anyone with diabetes, especially those on insulin who test their blood glucose frequently and want more actionable information than fingersticks alone can provide. One key point of difference from CGM is that FreeStyle Libre does not have high or low alarms, meaning it is not as ideal for those with lots of hypoglycemia or hypoglycemia unawareness. This articl Continue reading >>
- No More Routine Finger Sticks(1) for Americans with Diabetes: Abbotts FreeStyle Libre Approved in the U.S.
- Abbott's Revolutionary Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, FreeStyle Libre, Now Available To Medicare Patients - Jan 4, 2018
- The FreeStyle Libre, a device for monitoring blood sugar, is a pleasure to use.
