Benefits of Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose (SMBG)

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Daily’s weekly comment feature.

This week’s contributor is

Sally Benedek, Pharmacist, Diabetes Consultant & Trainer and Professional Services Account Manager at instigo Pharmacy Consulting.

ARE your patients with diabetes able to make informed decisions around their diet, exercise and treatment based on their blood glucose readings? Are they getting overall improved health outcomes? After all, glycaemic control is one of the most important factors in managing the risk of complications.

The key is structure. A structured approach is needed so that patterns can be identified, results can be interpreted and decisions made to improve diabetes management and outcomes.

A structured approach allows the patient to see how food, physical activity, pain, stress, illness, medications and other factors affect their blood glucose. It also allows them to make informed and timely decisions to make adjustments to their food, physical activity and insulin doses.

The intensity of the structured approach needs to be individualised based on the type of diabetes, treatment, risk of hypoglycaemia, anxiety around testing & knowledge of what to do with the results.

For a patient living with Type 1, this structured approach should occur daily. However, for patients with Type 2 it will vary extensively.

For some patients, structured monitoring for 3 days before they see their healthcare professional may be adequate for the clinician to make informed treatment decisions and the patient to receive the best outcomes.

Taking a patient centred approach and creating an individualised SMBG plan for your patients can reinforce beneficial health behaviours, increase adherence to medication and overall, generate positive health outcomes.