Author: Julia Vetsikas
Intended Audience: This activity is designed to meet the educational needs of medical directors, registered nurses, pharmacy directors, clinical pharmacists, specialty pharmacists, quality directors, as well as network physicians affiliated with various MCOs, health systems, and other payer organizations.
Credit Available: Up to 0.5 credit hour available for nurses (ANCC), pharmacists (ACPE), and physicians (AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™)
Expired
Click here to review – CE ExpiredEducational Objectives
After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:
- Describe the risks of hypoglycemia in older patients with diabetes
- Access health plan opportunities to identify underserved populations with diabetes, address the risks of hypoglycemia, and to implement appropriate interventions for prevention of hypoglycemia in high-risk populations
- Identify steps for the delivery of successful quality improvement interventions in diabetes and the role of real-time continuous glucose monitoring
Expert Faculty
Jointly provided by Impact Education, LLC, and Medical Education Resources.
This continuing education activity is supported by an independent educational grant from Dexcom, Inc.
A task analysis and ease of use survey conducted among adults aged ≥65 years and certified diabetes care and education specialists (CDCESs) showed excellent useability associated with the new G7 RT-CGM system. Ease of use related to intradermal insertion and mobile app setup were assessed and compared to the fifth- and sixth-generation systems in the study, which recruited 10 older adults with no previous CGM experience and 10 CDCESs. The analysis revealed that approximately half as many tasks are needed to deploy the G7 system compared with the G6, resulting in excellent usability as assessed by older adults and CDCESs in the study, highlighted by a system usability score of 92.8. Cumulatively, these findings indicate a relatively low cognitive burden associated with the system compared with previous versions, simplifying the utilization of RT-CGM for older adults who are at higher risk for diabetes-related complications and stand to benefit from the implementation of diabetes technology. Managed care and payer decision makers may find the data presented in the study useful for informing coverage policy and criteria for RT-CGM in this vulnerable population of patients.
Psavko S, Katz N, Mirchi T, Green CR. Usability and Teachability of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices in Older Adults and Diabetes Educators: Task Analysis and Ease-of-Use Survey. JMIR Hum Factors. 2022;9(4):e42057.
International diabetes experts recently collaborated to provide recommendations on how to optimize CGM-derived glucose data collection in clinical studies, including the specific glucose metrics and specific glucose metrics that should be evaluated. These consensus recommendations have been endorsed by key professional organizations, including the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Diabetes Association, the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists, Diabetes India, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes, the Japanese Diabetes Society, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. This recommended standardized approach to CGM data collection and reporting in clinical trials will encourage the use of uniform metrics and enhance the interpretability of CGM data. Managed care and payer professionals should note that these metrics offer a body of useful information beyond HbA1c to inform therapeutic and treatment decisions, particularly related to hypoglycemia, postprandial hyperglycemia, and glucose variability.
Battelino T, Alexander CM, Amiel SA, et al. Continuous glucose monitoring and metrics for clinical trials: an international consensus statement. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2023;11:42-57.
Learn MorePharmacy professionals and a payer representative convened an expert panel to connect available evidence and the panelists’ extensive experiences on the value of RT-CGM in improving patient quality of life. In addition, the panelists provided practical approaches to bring awareness, accessibility, and the utility of rtCGM to positively impact patient quality of life in practical applications. Managed care and payer professionals will find these real-world insights useful in characterizing the value of RT-CGM in health plan populations when making coverage determinations.
“Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring: Timely Opportunities to Improve Quality of Life.” CGM Live Virtual Crossfire Series Recap. Part 2. Pharmacy Times Continuing Education. August 2021.
Learn MoreAn expert panel composed of pharmacists and a payer professional discussed the value of RT-CGM and the role pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have in optimizing diabetes management. By making RT-CGM available to and allowing pharmacy professionals to work alongside patients, health care stakeholders can leverage the information offered by this technology to optimize diabetes management and mitigate disease impact. The panelists noted that coverage of RT-CGM through the pharmacy benefit facilitates access by allowing patients to fill their prescription directly at community pharmacies. The panelists’ insights are of use to managed care and payer professionals in determining optimal coverage policies for RT-CGM to improve outcomes among members with diabetes.
“Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring: Implications for Pharmacists.” CGM Live Virtual Crossfire Series Recap. Part 1. Pharmacy Times Continuing Education. May 2021.
Learn MoreA roundtable convened by the American Pharmacists Association reviewed the substantial body of evidence demonstrating that CGM is associated with improved glycemic control for patients with both T1D and T2D. Leading experts participating in the roundtable noted that CGM remains underutilized and that disparities in care are evident. One specific barrier to expanded utilization called out by the participants was the lack of an adequate number of providers who offer the service. Developing community pharmacy-based CGM services has been proposed as a logical solution for expanding patient access. Supporting this approach are the abundant data showing that pharmacist involvement in patient care for diabetes improves outcomes and reduces overall costs of care. Managed care and payer professionals will find this in-depth review and discussion valuable for developing their own policies for CGM coverage and access in the pharmacy setting.
American Pharmacists Association Foundation. “Expanding Access to Continuous Glucose Monitoring Technology in Community Pharmacies.” Practices Insights. May 2022.
Learn MoreAccording to a survey administered by Employee Benefit News, at least 70% of employees find high stress, depression, asthma, or diabetes disruptive enough to affect their everyday lives, including work and other responsibilities. In response, the vast majority of employers (84%) are offering digital health tools in some form that can help employees manage common chronic conditions, although only an average of 50% of employees take advantage of these benefits. Research shows employees want flexible options that offer new innovative tools to treat their chronic conditions, in addition to education to help them get started with a new program. Third-party technology vendors can assist in driving employee engagement, mitigating rising health care costs, and creating better outcomes for employees. Managed care and payer professionals will find these insights useful for developing programs that offer value to purchasers of health care.
“Optimizing Digital Health Tools to Retain and Engage Employees.” Employee Benefit News Supplement.
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