Diabetes Awareness Month review: patients in Quebec and Canada have legitimate expectations

BURNABY, BC, Dec. 8th, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Following the end of Diabetes Awareness Month, Dexcom is highlighting the legitimate expectations of patients with this chronic disease and their families regarding continuous glucose monitoring systems. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has increased the challenges associated with diabetes management, but governments have technologies at their disposal that help achieve optimal quality of care for patients.

Recently, the Yukon government¹ took the lead in becoming the first Canadian jurisdiction to announce reimbursement for continuous glucose monitoring systems for all individuals living with Type 1 diabetes. Several provinces have recently committed to providing similar reimbursement and discussions are currently underway with Quebec on this issue as well. "The government of Quebec has an opportunity to take a strong leadership role in helping to improve the lives of Quebecers living with diabetes by adding the Dexcom G6 CGM system to the list of drugs reimbursed by the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ)," said Laura Endres, Vice President and General Manager of Dexcom Canada.

Reimbursement of Dexcom G6 by the RAMQ would allow more Quebecers living with Type 1 diabetes access to this advanced therapy for diabetes management². Dexcom G6 allows users to share glucose data automatically³ with friends, family, caregivers, with customizable alerts that can warn of dangerous high and low glucose levels day and night. CGM technology helps reduce the number of people presenting to the emergency room⁴ which is especially important for people living with diabetes during the pandemic as they are more at risk for complications and mortality⁵.  This also paves the way for what the future of healthcare could look like for both people with diabetes and healthcare providers.

According to the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ), in 2016-2017, 7.2% of the population of Quebec had diabetes⁶.

About Dexcom

Dexcom, Inc. empowers people to take control of diabetes through innovative continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems. Headquartered in San Diego, California in the United States, and with operations in Canada, Dexcom has emerged as a leader of diabetes care technology. By listening to the needs of users, caregivers, and providers, Dexcom simplifies and improves diabetes management around the world.

SOURCE Dexcom, Inc.

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