Access to fully subsidised continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is a reality now for children and young people aged under 21 years living with type 1 diabetes.
The long-foreshadowed promise of $54 million in funding from the federal government – now accessible through the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) – has been widely welcomed by stakeholders.
Responding to the announcement by Health Minister Greg Hunt, AMA president Dr Michael Gannon said the initiative was a sensible investment in secondary prevention.
“This means that some people can have accurate monitoring so we can work out how good their blood sugar control is over the long term and, of course, good control reduces the complications of diabetes – whether that’s the eyes, the kidneys; as they grow up, their pre-disposition to heart disease, to strokes, to pregnancy problems, infertility.
This is a great story for young Australians afflicted by diabetes and their families.”
Diabetes Australia CEO Associate Professor Greg Johnson said the CGM subsidy was the most significant investment in type 1 diabetes technology in over a decade.
“It is hard to overstate the significance of the Federal Government’s CGM initiative which will literally change lives and save lives.
This will benefit around 4,000 Australian families with a child or young person with type 1 diabetes who are struggling to manage the condition,” he said.
“There is also clear evidence showing that CGM leads to better long term health outcomes by reducing the risk of diabetes-related complications.”
Speaking to the limbic CEO of the Australian Diabetes Society Dr Sof Andrikopoulos welcomed the announcement, which he said was a “positive result of the partnership between healthcare organisations including the ADS, ADEA and APEG, as well as consumer organisations including DA, JDRF and the DANII Foundation.”
“We thank everyone who was involved in making this vision a reality,” he said.
Since the funding was first mooted, evidence has continued to build for the benefits of CGM in all ages including adults.
The program was expected to start in January 2017 but implementation was delayed due to IT issues.