Self-monitoring in Type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial of reimbursement policy.
OBJECTIVE
Self-monitoring of blood glucose is often considered a cornerstone of self-care for patients with diabetes. We assessed whether provision of free testing strips would improve glycaemic control in non-insulin-treated Type 2 diabetic patients.


METHODS
Adults with Type 2 diabetes, excluding those with private insurance or using insulin, were recruited through community pharmacies and randomized to receive free testing strips for 6 months or not; all patients received similar baseline education and a glucose meter. Primary outcome was change in HbA(1c) over 6 months.


RESULTS
We randomized 262 patients (131 intervention and 131 control subjects). Mean age was 68.4 years (sd 10.9), 48% were male, mean duration of diabetes was 8.2 years (sd 7.2), 97% used oral glucose-lowering agents and mean baseline HbA(1c) was 7.4% (sd 1.2). After 6 months, we observed no difference in HbA(1c) between intervention and control patients, after adjusting for baseline HbA(1c)[adjusted difference 0.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.16, 0.22; P = 0.78]. A per protocol analysis of study completers (152/262; 60%) yielded similar results. Intervention patients reported testing 0.64 days per week more often than control subjects (95% CI 0.18, 1.10; P = 0.007), although testing was not associated with better glycaemic control (Pearson r = -0.10, P = 0.12).


CONCLUSIONS
Reducing financial barriers by providing free testing strips did not improve glycaemic control in patients with Type 2 diabetes not using insulin. Our results question the value of policies that reduce financial barriers to testing supplies in this population.
Johnson
J A
JA
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada. jeff.johnson@ualberta.ca
Majumdar
S R
SR
Bowker
S L
SL
Toth
E L
EL
Edwards
A
A
D000368:Aged; D000416:Alberta; D015190:Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring / Q000191:economics*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms