October 7, 2019

According to the CDC, almost 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes, and 90% to 95% of them have type 2 diabetes. “Our study was aimed to evaluate the financial impact of self-monitoring of blood glucose, with a home glucometer, in patients with diabetes who may not need regular monitoring,” explains Amy N. Thompson, PharmD, BCACP, Director of Ambulatory Clinical Pharmacy Practices, Pharmacy Innovations and Partnerships – UMMG, and Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy. “Specifically, we were looking at the number of times patients with type 2 diabetes not on insulin and the number of times there was an insurance claim for glucometer test strips. In all, there were over 80,000 patients that filled prescriptions for test strips three or more times over the course of a year, our analysis estimates that over 50% of these patients were inappropriately monitoring (e.g. testing when it may not be necessary).”

“There are many strategies that may have an impact on inappropriate monitoring, with both provider and patient education being of significant value,” says Dr. Thompson. “I feel that pharmacists are highly qualified to provide this education and have a potential impact on this practice.”

Read "Assessment of Self-monitoring of Blood Glucose in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes Not Using Insulin" on JAMA Internal Medicine's website.