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 finger three to four times a day,” she said. “Immediately I’m like, ‘OK, I should be a shoo-in, let me ask my doctor.’”
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