Blood glucose test strips: options to reduce usage

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence suggests that, despite widespread use, self-monitoring of blood glucose levels has little clinical benefit in many patients with diabetes. The impact of more focused public-payer policies for the use of blood glucose test strips may be substantial. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of annual prescription claims for test strips between 1997 and 2008 for patients in Ontario aged 65 and older with …