Using CGM in Clinical Practice
Start incorporating continuous glucose monitors into your clinical toolbox
Professional training for continuous glucose monitor use now available!
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Professional Training
An all-new “Fundamentals of Using CGM in Clinical Practice” is now available as a self-paced program.
Dietitians and nutritionists… I’m talking to you
You are the ideal clinician to be using this with your patients. Continuous glucose monitors are not just for managing insulin.
Because dysglycemia is so prevalent, monitoring glucose levels can help your patient reach their goals and prevent disease. They are tools to help with:
Assessment
Education
Accountability
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ASSESSMENT
ASSESSMENT
24/7 glucose readings help you assess insulin resistance, glucose tolerance, sleep, stress, and appropriateness of dietary choices. You can even see if sleep or meal timing is a factor for your clients.
Test, don’t guess!
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EDUCATION
EDUCATION
Real-time data helps your patients learn in real time what works and what doesn’t. No more guessing. When they can see if for themselves, they are more likely to understand the connection between food/activity/sleep, and their blood sugar. This is personalized nutrition and they are in the driver’s seat.
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ACCOUNTABILITY
ACCOUNTABILITY
Your patients may find it easier to stay accountable with their little “coach” on their arm. Immediate feedback is a great motivator. It “gamifies” their progress. It makes it kind of fun!
Gamify their health!
Get results!
The data can only get you so far. By combining the CGM data with your expert guidance, your patients can use a CGM for as little as 4 weeks and develop a personalized plan that gets them rapid results.
There is no cumbersome food logging. Using the FreeStyle Libre system, patients add free notes about their meal, exercise, sleep, or stress, and you can review their data anytime as they share it with you 24/7 on a free app.
It’s better than a diet diary. You can’t hide from a CGM.
Patients auto-adjust and make their own changes in response to real-time data.
Patients come to your appointment with burning questions and insights about their data making your coaching relationship more fruitful.
The data allows you to assist in more evidence-based medication adjustments (up or down) as metabolism shifts.
CGM STARTER MATERIALS
So you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. (Updated June 2023)
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Clinician's Guide
Ebook with detailed instructions on how to use a continuous glucose monitor and support your patients from getting their prescription to optimizing their use.
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Client Instructions: Canva Templates
29 pages of beautifully clear instructions for your clients. A Canva template that you can edit and rebrand as your own.
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Clinician's CGM Bundle
Get both booklets plus a bonus marketing package. The marketing package has 10 pages of brandable Canva templates to use for your sales funnels, freebies, and handouts.
“Karen Kennedy’s Continuous Glucose Monitor Starter Guide is an absolute must-have!”
Sheila Dean DSc, RDN, LDN, IFNCP, IFMCP
Professional Mentoring Available
Karen offers 1-hr professional mentoring calls. We can go over your CGM data, and your patient’s case/data and help you feel confident implementing this technology.
(Supporting other providers is one of my favorite things!)
Professional Training
An all-new “Fundamentals of Using CGM in Clinical Practice” is now available as a self-paced program
But aren’t CGMs only for people with diabetes on insulin?
Not anymore. I’m in this business to PREVENT chronic disease. Are you with me?
In the same way doctors prescribe metformin off-label for prediabetes, they can prescribe a CGM off-label for their patient anytime they like. Their insurance may or may not cover it. Their patients can get much-needed information about how their food choices impact them in real time. Combining that with professional support/education and 4-weeks can be enough to move the needle and cost them no more than $150 out of pocket per month, usually under $100 (without insurance).
Off-label prescribing is extremely common. The prescribing provider will want to know:
What is the cost to the patient and are they informed of the costs? $80-150/month, cash
Will there be any side effects? Possible reaction to the medical adhesive, and monitor for eating disorders.
Will they be supervised/supported so the data doesn’t just cause confusion and frustration? You bet!
How will it help? Faster results and empowered patients.
I think all dietetic and nutrition professional should have this in their toolbox.
Like you, I’ve been interested in using CGM in my practice for years. When I first looked into it, I found there were no learning resources outside of the diabetes clinic.
It took me months of talking with Abbott’s customer service, talking with my own doctor (who kindly wrote me a prescription), watching YouTube videos and lurking on Facebook groups for diabetes to learn how to get one, optimize its use, interpret data and then learn how to manipulate my levels.
The last part was easy. We have been well-trained on what helps blood sugar levels. However, nothing really prepared me for seeing the effects with my own eyes.
Anyway, I started using this with my patients and created detailed instructions complete with pdfs and instruction videos on how to obtain, install and use a continuous glucose monitor to make it easy for my patients. Now I’m making these instructions available for you so that YOUR patients can get started too.
You could be a dietitian, health coach, chiropractor, nurse practitioner or ND. This is a tool you and your patients are going to love.
Read on. You’ll want to grab my FREE GUIDE on the First 3 Steps to using CGM in Clinical Practice.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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I provide patients with a letter for their doctor describing our work along with the prescription code for the device I recommend. There are other ways to get a CGM too like online pharmacies.
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It might! But as you know, it varies all over the place. I always try to loop their doctor in to get help on that. But if just using it for 1-3 months, paying cash might be fine. The cash price should be about $ 40-75/2 weeks of use. Remember, you need a PRESCRIPTION, not insurance coverage. However, after doctors see how well this works for people, I’ve seen them go to bat for their patients and code the prescription in a way that gets partial or full coverage for people who don’t have diabetes. So let’s just get the ball rolling.
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Ask again and remind them that you aren’t asking for insurance coverage. You want to use this for PREVENTION and will pay cash. Use the provider letter and educational materials I provide in your handouts to talk to your doctor. There are also online pharmacies like AgelessRx that sell them without a prescription.
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You can use either one! I recommend the Libre 3. Both are eligible for the Free Trial from Abbott’s website (get one free sensor.)
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I support all of them. It depends on the person, insurance, etc. The Dexcom is excellent and is covered by insurance often. But without insurance, it’s the most expensive and you don’t have the ability to log food in it. I prefer the FreeStyle Libre 3 as it has good accuracy, has a more reasonable price tag and you can easily log food/activity in the free app.
