The following is a summary of “Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Primary Care: Understanding and Supporting Clinicians’ Use to Enhance Diabetes Care” published in the November 2022 issue of Family Medicine by Oser et al.
Around 34 million Americans have diabetes, and many fail to meet their glycemic goals. Better health outcomes are seen in persons with diabetes who use continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). However, it is uncertain how widespread the adoption of CGM is in primary care settings, where most persons with diabetes receive their care. Researchers analyzed CGM prescribing habits and resource needs among primary care practitioners in the United States using a cross-sectional web-based survey.
Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression were used to investigate factors related to prescription habits, attitudes toward prescribing CGM, and the resources required to use CGM in primary care. Clinicians located more than 40 miles from the nearest endocrinologist’s office were more likely to have prescribed CGM and expressed a greater propensity to prescribe CGM in the future than those placed within 10 miles of an endocrinologist. In addition, doctors who treated more Medicare patients had better attitudes toward future prescribing and higher confidence in utilizing CGM to control diabetes than clinicians with lower Medicare patient volumes.
The most-needed resources to facilitate CGM use in primary care were guidance on insurance difficulties and CGM training. Many primary care physicians would like to offer CGM to their diabetic patients but often lack the necessary funding. Workshops and guidance on insurance difficulties can help facilitate CGM use among residents, new grads, and practices without access to an endocrinologist in the area. Continued expansion of Medicare and Medicaid coverage for CGM can potentially encourage CGM use in primary care.
Source: annfammed.org/content/20/6/541
