Diabetes stakeholders will address quality, safety, access to tools

A national consensus conference organized by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists will tackle quality, safety and access to life-saving diabetes patient tools.

Scheduled for September in Washington, D.C., the conference will gather input from key diabetes opinion leaders and stakeholders. The initiative is intended to create consensus on regulatory challenges; post-FDA approval monitoring of glucose strips, glucose sensors and monitoring devices; and patient access, economic and reimbursement issues.

“While glucose monitoring has become a valuable tool in our arsenal in the war against diabetes complications, there are still many issues to overcome, such as access of appropriate patients to high-quality products, reimbursement from private and government insurance programs, and regulatory burden on physicians’ offices, in order to ensure the estimated 28 million people with diabetes in this country receive optimal care and assurance of their safety,” George Grunberger, MD, FACP, FACE, chair of the consensus conference committee and president-elect of AACE, said.

The conference folds into the society’s support for the National Diabetes Clinical Care Commission Act legislation, which aims to pool endocrinologists and other specialists in the field, patient advocates and representatives from federal agencies, to streamline investments in diabetes treatment and improve care coordination and outcomes.

A statement highlighting the challenges around glucose monitoring and outlining potential solutions will come from the conference and be delivered to Congress by AACE and other stakeholders.

“Unless and until these issues are resolved,” Grunberger said, “there will continue to be serious consequences for patients and their health care professionals.”

For more information: Major Medical Association Announces Gathering of Key Diabetes Stakeholders to Tackle Challenges of Safety, Accuracy of Life-Saving Diabetes Patient Tools