Exclusive: New scheme for subsidised monitoring devices stipulates only diabetes specialists can certify patient access
The peak body representing GPs has said it is “nonsensical” that GPs cannot approve continuous glucose monitors for diabetes patients, and patients say the rule may leave them hundreds of dollars out of pocket while they seek authorisation from a diabetes specialist.
A diabetes patient in Victoria, Melody, told Guardian Australia the wait to see a diabetes specialist, such as an endocrinologist, was up to six months.Melody fears if she cannot get an appointment with a specialist who can authorise subsidised access to the monitors, she and other diabetes patients in similar positions will in the meantime have to pay upwards of $700 for a 90-day supply of monitoring.
In a letter sent to the federal department of health, Price wrote that managing patients with diabetes was something GPs did regularly. Yet the glucose monitoring access form states “NDSS cannot approve forms that have been certified by GPs” and that “this is an Australian government policy decision”.
“People with T1DM [type 1 diabetes] are managed by a healthcare team, which GPs are central to. It is unclear why other members of this healthcare team are able to sign this form and GPs are not. As it stands, this decision creates unnecessary barriers to patient access to appropriate and timely care.”Sign up to receive the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning
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