Is Self-Monitoring a Waste?

By Quinn Phillips Self-monitoring of blood glucose for people with Type 2 diabetes is often a contentious topic. There is little doubt, of course, that for people with diabetes who take insulin, self-monitoring plays a crucial role in calculating the correct dose, allowing for far better blood glucose control than would otherwise be possible without a very high risk of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). But for people with Type 2 diabetes who don't take insulin (or an oral diabetes drug that carries the risk of hypoglycemia), there is longstanding debate about whether self-monitoring is worthwhile, with some experts arguing that it is a waste of time, money, and effort for most people. Two major medical organizations have just taken a side in this argument. In their contribution to the American Board of Internal Medicine's "Choosing Wisely" campaign — an initiative in which medical organizations submit a list of "Five Things Physicians and Patients Should Question" in their field — The Endocrine Society and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists put self-monitoring first on their list: "Avoid routine multiple daily self-glucose monitoring in adults with stable type 2 diabetes on agents that do not cause hypoglycemia." They go on to note exceptions when monitoring is a good idea for everyone, including during illness, when new medications are added, or if HbA1c begins to rise. But the groups note that self-monitoring appears to have little benefit unl...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs