II. Costs
- Glucometers cost $10 to over $100
- Manufacturers often give meters away (via DM educators)
- The meters cost far less than the years of test strips (see below)
- Test strip costs
- Each: $0.22 to $1.66
- Monthly: $7 to $50 for once daily testing
- Yearly: $84 to $600 for once daily testing
III. Management: Prescriptions
- Prescribe "Blood Glucose Meter" without specific brand and allow patient to select with pharmacist best option
- Meter features change constantly and some have large buttons, audio prompts or exportable data to mobile apps
- Most meters allow for alternate site testing (but interstitial readings may lag true Blood Sugar by 40 minutes)
- Test strips are most expensive long-term cost and free meters may not be a bargain
- Test strip prescriptions
- References
- (2016) Presc Lett 23(2): 8-9
IV. Resources
- FDA Blood Glucose Monitoring devices
- Diabetes Forecast Meter and Test Strip market summary (costs of meters and test strips, droplet size, features)