Pharmacists Navigate CGM Access, Costs, and Patient Awareness

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has transformed diabetes care throughout recent history, but for many patients, navigating the technology remains a significant hurdle that pharmacists are well-positioned to address.

“It really should be awareness and then education. So many people don’t even know about CGMs despite all the advertising,” Susan Cornell, PharmD, CDCES, FAPhA, FADCES, clinical pharmacist and diabetes care and educational specialist at the Bolingbrook Christian Health and Will-Grundy Medical Clinics in Illinois. “Many people [think] you have to have type one diabetes, or you have to be on insulin, and I think there’s a lot of people out there that think this isn’t for them because they’re not on insulin.”

For community pharmacists managing patients’ diabetes, one of the most pressing issues is insurance coverage. While CGM has proven to be a game-changer for countless patients, the cost of these devices means that coverage decisions often dictate who gets access.

The American Diabetes Association’s latest recommendations call for CGM use across all patients with diabetes—not just those with type 1 or those on insulin therapy. This is a shift that could meaningfully expand insurance coverage in the coming years.

Beyond coverage, pharmacists are also managing the growing complexity of automated insulin delivery systems, where CGM devices must be precisely matched to compatible insulin pumps. A mismatch between a Dexcom G6 and a pump designed for the G7, for example, can stall a patient’s care and erode trust in the process.

Watch this video to understand patient complications from practicing pharmacists and learn about the key ways diabetes specialists meander common CGM challenges.

READ MORE: CGM Resource Center

Ready to impress your pharmacy colleagues with the latest drug information, industry trends, and patient care tips? Sign up today for our free Drug Topics newsletter.