There’s no question that Continuous Glucose Monitors have made living with Diabetes more manageable for patients and healthcare providers around the globe. For this reason, there are a variety of Continuous Glucose Monitor brands on the market today … so how do you choose? At Quest Health Solutions, we have done our research. We are committed to serving as a one stop shop for all Continuous Glucose Monitor needs and want to share that knowledge. Read on to find the reasons why the Freestyle Libre is our first choice in Continuous Glucose Monitors.
Benefits of Continuous Glucose Monitors overall
For patients, Continuous Glucose monitors allow for an active, healthier and less stressful lifestyle. Other benefits include:
- Ease of Use – CGMs eliminate the need for inconvenient and painful fingersticks.
- 24/7 Monitoring – Continual monitoring keeps patients safe and allows them to monitor levels anytime, anywhere. CGMs can send alerts to patients, healthcare providers, and family members if levels are too high or too low providing an extra level of security.
- Data Collection – CGMs collect information and identify patterns that can be shared with healthcare professionals and caregivers to help avoid dangerous situations. Depending on the monitoring system, this data can be stored for up to 3 months.
- CGMs are advanced, user-friendly, discreet and are continually evolving to make it easier for patients living with Diabetes.
For healthcare providers, Continuous Glucose Monitors provide real-time, accurate information for better patient management and control. Other benefits include:
- Identification and monitoring of extremes in blood glucose levels and assessment of nocturnal glucose patterns.
- Time in Range (TIR) of blood glucose results to determine if patients are meeting desired targets.
- Provide an analysis of the overall treatment plan and the data needed to identify if changes to the plan are needed.
- Serves as a teaching tool for patients and healthcare providers to learn how factors, such as diet, exercise, and medication, can affect glucose levels.
As you can see, the benefits are far reaching. Advances in technology have helped Continuous Glucose Monitors become more widely adopted and readily used in recent years. In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a nonobjection to in-hospital use of CGM during the Covid-19 pandemic”1 for their use in remote monitoring of glucose levels. The demand for Continuous Glucose Monitor will continue to evolve and increase in the years to come. “The global CGM market was valued at $3.3 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach mid-double digits in 2020.”
Why the Freestyle Libre is our first choice in Continuous Glucose Monitoring
The three most popular monitoring systems on the market today are the Dexcom, Medtronic, and the Freestyle Libre. There are similarities among the devices, but here’s a quick review of the factors that set them apart:
- Insertion/Ease of Use – The Freestyle Libre has the easiest process and requires only a single-step insertion. The Dexcom has a two-step process that involves a complicated taping procedure. Medtronic devices require a multi-step process that also involves taping of both the sensor and transmitter.
- Wear Time – The Freestyle Libre is the longest lasting self-applied sensor on the market today and can be worn for 14 days. Dexcom’s sensor wear time is 7 days and Medtronic’s is 6 days.
- Calibration – The Freestyle Libre does not require calibration. Dexcom requires calibration twice daily and Medtronic requires calibration 3 to 4 times daily.
- Care Between Use – The Freestyle Libre is easy to use and maintain. It has a disposable sensor and transmitter. The transmitter in the Dexcom and Medtronic must be cleaned and disinfected after each use. The Dexcom also requires that the receiver be cleaned and disinfected as well.
- Insertion site – The Freestyle Libre is placed on the back of the upper arm. The sensor is the size of two stacked quarters and easily accessible through clothing. Both Dexcom and Medtronic sensors are placed on the abdomen.
- Cost – Of the 3 devices, the Freestyle is the most affordable especially for patients responsible for coinsurance. The Freestyle Libre is our top pick because it’s convenient, easy to use and provides patients more freedom and gives healthcare providers more control. Each Freestyle Libre scan provides a current glucose reading, a trend arrow and an 8-hour history. The Freestyle Libre gives patients and healthcare providers an easy way to track daily patterns, ranges and targets and can receive alerts when they are trending high or low. Using the Freestyle Libre in conjunction with the LibreView downloadable app allows patients to retrieve readings right from their smart device. Data can be shared with healthcare providers and up to ten followers which helps patients with the overall management of Diabetes and helps to keep glucose levels under control.
Where to find the Freestyle Libre
The Freestyle Libre is becoming more readily available through various channels. The qualifying process, however, can be daunting for both the patient and provider. At Quest Health Solutions, we can guide you through the entire process. We are not only one of the leading suppliers of Continuous Glucose Monitors in the market today, but we also offer CGM Fulfillment Solutions. Our experienced team will handle all of the paperwork, insurance verification, billing and authorization calls so that healthcare providers do what they do best – treat patients! To learn more about the Freestyle Libre and our CGM Fulfillment Solutions, contact Quest Health Solutions at 1-877-888-7050 Ext. 1011 or email ben@questhealthsolutions.com .
1. (2020) Endocrinology Advisor. Available at Click Here accessed on 14 October 2020.
2. (2020) News Medical Life Sciences. Available at Click Here accessed on 15 October 2020.