Time for solutions for Nova Scotians with diabetes
More than 110,000 Nova Scotians have been diagnosed with diabetes. Many are older Nova Scotians who are worried about accessing the best available supports to manage their diabetes.
The older you are, the more likely you are to have diabetes. One in five Nova Scotians over the age of 65 have diabetes.
CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons) believes a valuable tool to help Nova Scotians with diabetes is flash glucose monitoring.
For an individual living with diabetes, measuring their glucose levels is vital to avoid serious – or even life-threatening – health complications.
For years, people had to measure their blood glucose with finger prick testing several times a day.
Flash glucose monitoring provides glucose readings and trends through a small sensor worn on the back of the upper arm and scanned with a reader or phone, eliminating the need for finger pricks.
People can see in real time how lifestyle, diet, medication and activity affect their glucose levels. This empowers those with diabetes make timely self-management decisions.
A flash glucose monitor can also connect someone to their healthcare provider, enabling remote access to critical data that helps optimize management of diabetes. This innovation makes facilitating virtual care appointments more productive, particularly for those who live in rural areas – an issue amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Premier Tim Houston's government keeps its election promise to make virtual care permanent, ensuring that those with diabetes have access to flash glucose monitoring is a natural next step.
Nova Scotia and its Atlantic neighbours do not provide public Pharmacare coverage for flash glucose monitoring. Since 2019, the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness has been evaluating public coverage. Flash glucose monitoring has been publicly reimbursed for people with diabetes in other provinces since 2019.
Many private plans cover flash glucose systems for people with diabetes, which means Nova Scotians covered by such plans have access to an innovative product while those covered by the public plan do not. This is not equitable.
The direct and indirect costs of Nova Scotians living with diabetes is approximately $112 million per year. In addition, the Nova Scotia Diabetes Statistics Report indicates that Nova Scotians with diabetes made twice as many visits to primary care and were three times as likely to be hospitalized.
CARP congratulates the N.S. government for making solutions for health care and seniors a priority. Ensuring flash glucose monitoring technology for all Nova Scotians living with diabetes – regardless of their age or their type of diabetes – would be proof the government's solutions extend to those living with diabetes.