Heather Verry: Diabetes New Zealand CEO on the funding of wearable glucose monitors

Thousands of cases of amputation and vision loss could be prevented thanks to diabetes monitoring technology. 

Continuous Glucose Monitors, or CGMs, have been funded for Type 1 diabetes since last October. 

New data from CGM producer Dexcom finds lifetime use of the devices could prevent up to 70 thousand diabetes-related complications and save the country $50 thousand a day. 

Diabetes New Zealand Chief Executive Heather Verry told Mike Hosking funding should be expanded to all diabetes patients. 

She says Pharmac is only funding for Type 1, and at $200 a month, these devices are unaffordable for everyone else. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
From our science will save us file Continuous glucose monitors
this is for type one diabetes have helped over nineteen
thousand kiwis reduced the risk of amputations and vision loss.
Now Heather very is the Diabetes New Zealand boss and
as well as Heather Morning, Our Good Morning make Are
these monitors the same ones they're wearing on Hollywood all
the time and lots of glovies and stuff where you
buy your own glucose monitor and monitor? Are they the

(00:22):
same thing?

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Well, they could be, yes, I think they are. But
because it's.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Become a thing you realize in the fitness world that
your monitor your glucose on an ongoing basis.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, that's an interesting thing that for type ones these
are actually life saving and life changing. So it's a
little bit different from the Hollywood one.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Is it just type one or type two?

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Anyone who's insulin dependent would benefit from wearing these. At
the moment, farmac are only funding for type one. They're
very expensive, about two hundred dollars a month, so there's
been a bit affordable especially for young, young families. You know,
type one as comes as young as that's when you
get it generally in use so it's not only a

(01:07):
financial burden, but you know, let's say it's a social
burden because these ones are actually type ones are having
to practice fingers eight ten times a day in order
to check their blood sugar levels. But these c gms
mean they don't have to do that, and then also
talks to their phones and gives them alerk exactly. So
quite different from a Hollywood situation.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
No, no, no, no't get me right, it's not a Hollywood.
What I'm telling you is you can buy these things
for yourself to monitor your own glucose, whether you've got
diabetes or not. I'm saying it. It's like a it's
like a it's a warp, it's an app, it's a
it's an aura ring, it's that sort of thing.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
It is absolutely that, Yes, it is, yes, yes, But
the good thing is we're now funder we never used
to be. So it's fantastic on the calculation.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Though, if you're saving fifty three thousand dollars a day,
the David Seymour line, I e. You save here to
save later, then why don't we just fund everybody? I mean,
obviously I know the answer, but I mean, in theory,
it would work, wouldn't it.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Well, yes, I mean, look, good luck on that, Mike.
I've been seven years campaigning into submissions and select committee
just to get the type ones funded. So, but you're right,
I mean, I mean, look, it does say that. I mean,
the thing the difference is is that what they are saving,

(02:26):
which is the complications, and the complications are the you know,
the renal units. Gosh, you know fifty percent of people
in the renal unit are due to diabetes, blindness, stroke,
cardiovascular diabetes sort of sits at the bottom of the
It is a shame, yes, it is. So I think,
you know, if we can get more funding and a

(02:47):
little bit more intervention into things for diabetes, and our
goal now is to get type twos.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah, exactly. All right, Well, I wish you were best
with it, Heather, Heather very I'm sorry for being so
practical about it. I just thought, you know, if you
spend now to save later, that's not a bad idea.
Must talk to David seymore about that at some time.
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