Background
Type 2 diabetes treated with insulin can be difficult to manage, especially when blood glucose levels fluctuate widely. Episodes of severe hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and diabetic ketoacidosis can lead to emergency visits and hospital admissions. In recent years, intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring, or isCGM, has become an important tool for helping patients and clinicians better understand glucose patterns, adjust insulin doses, and reduce the risk of complications. Unlike traditional finger-stick testing, isCGM allows users to scan a sensor worn on the body to see current glucose levels and recent trends throughout the day.
This study examined what happened when publicly funded isCGM was implemented on a large scale for adults with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes. The main question was whether wider access to this technology was associated with fewer hospitalizations, shorter hospital stays, and lower inpatient costs.
