In patients with type 2 diabetes, blood sugar levels should be monitored regularly. The most well-known and used method is still the regular finger prick. Thanks to the technology of the smart glucose sensor, those pricks, especially in older patients more often lead to sore fingers, can now be omitted. At home care organization Omring, the glucose sensor is already being used for type 2 diabetes patients.
Glucose sensor
Omring nurses had to regularly visit elderly patients who did not ‘prick’ their blood sugar themselves four times a day to check their blood sugar levels. “Elderly people can have fluctuating blood sugars if, for example, they have an infection or if they have to take certain medication. Practitioners want to keep an eye on that,” says district nurse Patricia Floris.
With the glucose sensor, that is now a thing of the past. The sensor is placed on a patient’s upper arm. There he then continuously measures the blood sugar level for fourteen days. Patients can easily read these values themselves with the accompanying smartphone app.
By reading these values three to four times a day, the nurses gain insight into a patient’s blood sugar fluctuations, the so-called diurnal curve, without having to visit the patient. “Thanks to this method of measurement, we have more time to help other clients,” says the district nurse.
Time savings and happy patients
The patients of Omring who have already become acquainted with the glucose sensor are very enthusiastic about this new way of monitoring type 2 diabetes. In particular, the fact that they no longer have to be pricked in the fingers on a regular basis is greatly appreciated. “The number one point is that clients no longer have to prick their finger. I often hear how fantastic they think that is. They usually have been doing those finger pricks for years, that bothers them. It hurts,” says Patricia.
For Omring, the arrival of the glucose sensor on days when a daily curve would normally have to be measured, saves one hour per patient. Time that the nurses can now spend on other patients and care. “In this time of a lack of healthcare personnel and an increasing demand for healthcare, that is a huge benefit,” says Patricia.
Proven sensible care
The use of the glucose sensor in home care is a ‘good practice’ of Omring and health insurer VGZ. In other words, an example of ‘sensible care’: proven and successful examples of good care at lower costs.
The added value of continuously measuring blood sugar levels in diabetic patients was extensively researched and proven a few years ago.