STAT June 30, 2021
In the last year, Jai Smith has cycled through 13 primary care doctors. Ever since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1995, she’s tried her best to manage a disease that has devastated her family: Her grandmother and four uncles died from its complications.
But she’s struggled to find a doctor in her hometown of Little Rock, Ark., who will give her what she wants to manage the condition: a continuous glucose monitor. Like many patients with diabetes, Smith uses fingerprick glucose tests to help dose her medications. The 44-year-old was immediately interested when she heard about CGM, which uses an embedded sensor to collect a proxy for blood glucose around the clock.
“I’m already having to prick my...