Guardian 4

Everyone living with type 1 diabetes can apply for subsidised CGM through the NDSS. People under 21 with a rare condition very similar to type 1 diabetes who need insulin may also be eligible. You need to be registered with the NDSS first.

An authorised health professional confirms you are eligible: an endocrinologist, a credentialled diabetes educator, or another health professional who specialises in diabetes, such as a physician, paediatrician or nurse practitioner. Our credentialled diabetes educators can do this at your appointment.

You collect sensors from an NDSS Access Point, usually a community pharmacy, and most people pay a co-payment for each sensor. There is no co-payment for people under 21, for adults with a Commonwealth concession card or a DVA Gold or White Card, or for people with type 1 diabetes who are planning a pregnancy, pregnant or have recently had a baby. The co-payment for this sensor is shown alongside.

Your NDSS access lists the sensor you are approved for. Before you can order a different one, an authorised health professional needs to update your access. If you use your sensor with an insulin pump, check the pump works with the new sensor before you change.

CGM is not currently subsidised through the NDSS for type 2 diabetes, so sensors are self-funded. Some people find a few weeks of CGM useful to see how food, activity and medicines affect their glucose. Ask us whether it is worth the cost for you.

A CGM measures glucose in the fluid under the skin, so it runs a few minutes behind your blood glucose, most of all when levels are changing quickly. If your symptoms do not match the reading, during warm-up, or when your system asks for one, check with a finger-prick test and act on that result. Keep your meter and strips on hand.