Tasmanians living with Type 1 diabetes are now eligible for life changing technology but a "short-sighted" roll-out could hinder access.
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On July 1, the federal government expanded access to subsidised continuous glucose monitoring and Flash GM products to all people with Type 1 diabetes, but general practitioners are unable to administer it.
The technology - which previously put patients out of pocket by about $5000 annually - allows patients to continuously measure glucose levels, giving them greater control.
CGM has been "a life changer" for Deloraine's Daniel Webb, who said diabetes management was "a constant job".
"You have to keep an eye on it all the time," he said.
"People talk about diabetes burn-out, and it's a real thing because it is so constant. You think about it more than anything else."
Mr Webb said since going on CGM his blood sugar levels regularly remained within good range - often upwards of 90 per cent for the day.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners welcomed the expansion, but state chair Dr Tim Jackson said excluding GPs from certifying access forms was "short-sighted" and lacked understanding of their role in diabetes management.
"In Tasmania, the population is distributed across a wider area, so ... access to specialist endocrinologist and diabetes educators can be limited, in which case the GP is often the first port of call for someone," he said.
"It could be a potential barrier for these patients to get access to this new technology.
"So I think it's important that we recognise GPs as central to the team management of someone with diabetes, and for that reason it seems short-sighted that we aren't able to certify the access forms and we hope that the policy decision can be reviewed and rectified in the right way."
Australian Diabetes Society chief executive Associate Professor Sof Andrikopoulos said the clinical benefit of CGM came from the data it produced, and being able to interpret it was vital.
"GPs are really critical in the management of diabetes, in the care for diabetes, in the coordination of diabetes care. But I just think that in this instance, you do need some specialised knowledge and training to be able to provide maximum benefit for the person with diabetes using CGM," he said.
Professor Andrikopoulos said instead of using finances to train GPs in CGM technology, it would be better invested to support the existing diabetes workforce.
He said diabetes patients could access CGM and support through telehealth.
A federal department of health spokesperson said eligibility criteria followed ADS and Australian Diabetes Educators Association advice.
"New diabetes technologies, such as insulin pumps and CGM products [...] are rapidly-evolving, complex, and require considerable training and expertise to stay abreast of changes in treatment and monitoring options," they said.
"Consequently, it was decided that the health professionals authorised to certify CGM access forms are those for whom diabetes is the main scope of their practice."
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