Abbott's Revolutionary Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, FreeStyle Libre, Now Available To Medicare Patients - Jan 4, 2018

Abbott's Revolutionary Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, FreeStyle Libre, Now Available To Medicare Patients
- CMS reimbursement provides opportunity for Medicare patients who meet eligibility criteria to access FreeStyle Libre System
- FreeStyle Libre System can replace traditional blood glucose monitoring, eliminating the need for routine fingersticks(1) or any user calibration
ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Jan. 4, 2018 / PRNewswire / --Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced that the FreeStyle Libre System, the company's revolutionary new continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, is now available to Medicare patients, having met the codes for therapeutic CGM systems used for coverage by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Coverage includes all Medicare patients with diabetes who use insulin and who meet the eligibility criteria2.
The factory-calibrated FreeStyle Libre system is the only CGM system recognized by Medicare that requires no user calibration whatsoever (either by fingerstick or manual data entry). The system also does not require the need for routine fingersticks1. The high accuracy of the FreeStyle Libre system allows for patients to dose insulin based on the results1.
"At Abbott, we are continuously challenging ourselves to ensure our innovative technology is accessible to the majority of people who need it," said Jared Watkin, senior vice president, Diabetes Care, Abbott. "CMS's recognition of this revolutionary health technology, which removes the need for any user calibration, is ultimately going to empower Medicare beneficiaries with d Continue reading

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Unlocking the universal language of emojis in radical bid to help illiterate type 2 diabetes sufferers

Like belief in imminent Rapture, type 2 diabetes finds its biggest constituency among the poor, the poorly educated and the disadvantaged.
"In the developed world, diabetes is far more prevalent in low-income, migrant and ethnic minority groups, regardless of which country in the world you go to," says Timothy Skinner, professor of psychology at Charles Darwin University in the Northern Territory capital.
"Why that's so is an interesting conversation. It's probably a combination of things such as the costs of living a more healthy life; the costs of food and nutrition. But also we know that depression is a risk factor – the daily burdens of lower socioeconomic groups are a problem."
Globally, according to the World Health Organisation, those burdens have produced more than 422 million cases of type 2 diabetes, causing 3.7 million deaths a year. In Australia, about 1.7 million people are affected.
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The linkage of diabetes with people whose choices are severely constrained by history, language and income creates a whole raft of problems – as if having a progressive condition that can lead to blindness, amputation and kidney failure was not enough.
Prime among these are difficulties understanding written material about the subject – especially if that material isn't available in an appropriate language – and being unable to grasp the helpful, but not easy, advice offered by doctors.
Indeed, the critical relationship between patient and physician often becomes strained, as each participant fails to understand the Continue reading

Should We Be Treating Type 2 Diabetes With Bariatric Surgery?

I'm resurrecting and tweaking this piece, for the third time now, consequent to the publication in the New England Journal of Medicine of the 12 year data that continues to strongly support the use of bariatric surgery to treat type 2 diabetes.
In case you missed the news, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated dramatic benefits of bariatric surgery in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Now I'm not going to get into the study here in great detail, but it followed 1,156 patients from for 12 years and divided them into 3 groups. Those who sought and chose not to have bariatric surgery. Those who sought and had bariatric surgery. And those who did not seek nor have bariatric surgery. Researchers examined all of them at baseline, 2 years, 6 years, and 12 years in terms of whether they had type 2 diabetes, hypertension, or hyperlipidemia.
The results were striking.
With a follow up rate of 90% at 10 years researchers demonstrated that not only were patients 12 years post bariatric surgery maintaining an average loss of 77lbs/26.9% (the non-surgical groups at 12 years lost an average of nothing), but that amoung those patients who had diabetes pre-surgically, 12 years later, 51% were in remission. And for those who are curious about such things as odds ratios, the odds ratio for the incidence of type 2 diabetes at 12 years was 0.08 (95% CI, 0.03 to 0.24) for the surgery group versus the non-surgery group.
(and though they weren't quite as striking, the surgery group at 12 years also had markedly higher remission rates and lower incidences of b Continue reading

Diabetes Snacks: Best for Office

8 Delicious Diabetes-Friendly Office Snacks
Medically reviewed by Peggy Pletcher, MS, RD, LD, CDE on March 14, 2017 Written by Lori Zanini, RD, CDE
Almonds, pistachios, popcorn your office desk drawer is probably already an arsenal of lower-carb snack foods. With diabetes, these healthy snacks are crucial to combat hunger and control your blood sugar.
If youre bored of the same old snacks, on the other hand, it might be time to mix it up. Snack and meal planning help is the number one request that I receive from clients. Below are eight great ideas to step up your snack game with fresh foods that are satisfying and delicious.
Your guide to diabetes-friendly snacking at work
Remember, planning ahead is especially helpful for the workplace. Its so easy to become engulfed in meetings, projects, and deadlines that we can suddenly go from a little hungry to ravenous. Having diabetes-friendly snacks on hand will give you a go-to when your co-worker brings in those dreaded morning donuts, afternoon pastries, or the always-present candy bowl.
When it comes to choosing your snacks, think about when, how, and what you will be eating.
Ideally, you will be hungry for snacks about two to three hours after your main meals. If you are hungry less than two hours after a meal, this might be a reason to evaluate if you are eating balanced meals. Foods high in carbohydrates and low in protein and fat tend to digest more quickly, raise our blood glucose levels, and leave us wanting more too soon.
Being mindful of what you eat, really thinking about what and why you are eating, make Continue reading

28 Experts Answer Questions About Diabetes T2 & Prediabetes

A1: Diabetes is not on the decline, but rather type 2 diabetes is on the increase. The increase in T2DM correlates with our populations increase in obesity. Now, more than 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese, and while the rate of rise may have plateaued a bit, incidence of T2DM has not. In addition, T2DM increases with age. As we are living longer, we are likely to see more diabetes.
A2: I think the biggest diet mistake patients make is thinking by refraining from eating sugar, their diabetes will get better.
While eating sugar or sugary products isnt great, the most important factor is weight loss. While there is varying evidence on different types of diets, in general, a calorie is a calorie. For example, a patient might eat a few pieces of candy a day, and think that if she stops this, it will improve her diabetes.
In fact, it is unlikely that refraining from a few pieces of candy a day will promote enough weight loss to improve diabetes. Patients need to know that they should both eat healthy, and decrease portions . You can have an extremely healthy diet, but if your calorie content is too high because of portion sizes, then you are unlikely to lose weight and improve diabetes.
I think one of the biggest management mistakes made is use of finger stick glucose monitors. The public seems to generally know about diabetics checking their sugar, and because insurance usually covers glucose monitors, they are often highly promoted by the industry. However, if you are Type 2 diabetic and are not taking insulin or a sulfonylurea, then there is no need to check your Continue reading