There are two types of CGM: professional (owned by a health care center) and personal (for personal use and viewing). CGMs are classified as either personal or professional depending on who owns the device.
As a healthcare provider, you have the opportunity to offer a professional CGM to a patient who doesn’t currently have one for them to use for a week or two so you both can work to better understand their glucose levels.
After these few weeks, you review the data with the patient. Typically, professional CGM is more frequently covered by insurance plans, so that people with diabetes can better engage with their blood glucose levels while the provider works with insurers to meet coverage requirements. If someone is considering a personal CGM system but is anxious about what it might feel like to have a device connected to their body, using a professional CGM may help calm their fears.
There are three CGM devices available for professional CGM:
There are two types of professional CGM: blinded and unblinded.
With blinded CGM, the person wearing the device cannot see their glucose data as it is being collected. Only you as the healthcare provider can download the information to review with them. Blinded professional CGMs can be helpful since typically people won’t change their behavior in response to immediate feedback, giving the medical provider a clearer picture of your day-to-day glucose highs and lows. Reviewing blinded CGM data with the person with diabetes can produce many “aha moments,” which allows their health care team to help them interpret the data and for them to understand how their medications, diet and activity impact their glycemic control. Of the available professional CGMs, only Dexcom allows for both blinded and unblinded options.
An unblinded CGM allows the user to directly observe the effects of their diet, physical activity, stress, and other factors on their glucose levels. The person with diabetes can make adjustments in real-time before consulting with their healthcare provider.
Personal CGM devices are owned by the person with diabetes. Individuals have the opportunity to make decisions about their diabetes management based on the trends that the device is showing, in combination with guidance from one’s health care team.
These are the available devices for personal CGM:
- Abbott FreeStyle Libre Pro
- Dexcom G6 + G7
- Medtronic Guardian Sensor
- Senseonics Eversense