Diabetes Victoria responds to recent news about diabetes technology

Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) and Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) systems can be lifechanging and lifesaving for people living with diabetes. 

Current evidence shows significantly better health outcomes for people using AID systems (insulin pumps connected to CGMs) compared to people managing diabetes with insulin injections. 

By providing real-time glucose readings, trend arrows and insights into patterns, CGMs empower people to make informed decisions about their health. 

Diabetes Victoria supports the work of the TGA to maintain regulatory standards and minimise the risk of adverse events. While diabetes devices are not immune to potential failure, people living with diabetes deserve access to balanced and evidence-based information.  

It is important that people living with diabetes can have confidence in the use of technologies that have been shown more broadly to improve health and quality of life. These reports have not provided a balanced perspective regarding diabetes technologies and have the potential to result in unnecessary anxiety and distress for people living with diabetes. 

“We continually hear from our community about how these devices have improved not only their physical health, but also their mental health and wellbeing,” Diabetes Victoria CEO Glen Noonan says. 

Empowering Us – a community-led survey of adults with type 1 diabetes using insulin pumps, CGMs or intermittently scanned CGM to manage their glucose levels – gathered perspectives from almost 3,500 people. 

The majority of respondents (98.3 percent) indicated that technology was ‘important’ or ‘extremely important’ in keeping their glucose levels in target range and reducing both the severity and frequency of hypoglycaemia. 

In addition, over 85 percent of respondents indicated that their emotional wellbeing was ‘better’ or ‘much better’ since using the technology. 

“The benefits of CGMs and insulin pumps are supported by clinical evidence,” Mr Noonan says. 

“While the science shows that approved devices are highly accurate, there is no ‘perfect’ or ‘fail-proof’ method when it comes to diabetes management. 

“It is important that people with diabetes receive education from a Diabetes Educator, Endocrinologist or GP so they can understand what to expect from the technology. 

“We recommend that people managing diabetes continue to monitor their symptoms, and if symptoms do not match their CGM reading, they should follow the advice provided by their health care team.”   

Professor David O’Neal, Director of the Diabetes Technology Research Group and Deputy Director of the Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations (ACADI), has been working in diabetes clinical practice since 1990. 

“These devices have transformed the lives of people with diabetes,” Professor O’Neal says. 

“Prior to continuous glucose monitors, people living with diabetes were doing finger-pricks to measure their glucose levels. They are painful, and they only give you a single reading at one point in time. 

"CGM provides a glucose reading every five minutes – they provide a level of detail we didn’t have before." 

Access to subsidised technology consistently rates as one of the most important issues in our community consultations. We will continue to advocate for expanded access to CGM and AID systems for people with diabetes, while supporting robust regulatory standards to ensure they are safe and reliable. 

We encourage anyone with concerns about diabetes technology to speak with their health care team or, if they have experienced an adverse event, report it to the Therapeutic Goods Administration.