A life-changing medical device for diabetics could soon be Government-funded in New Zealand.
Continuous glucose monitors, which are attached to the body, tracks a person's sugar levels.
Opera singer Jonathan Abernathy, who has type 1 diabetes, has a continuous glucose monitor on his leg.
"It's a lot of stress and nerves — stage nerves — and all of these kind of different emotions, as well as the physical aspect of just being very active on stage," he said.
New Zealand's drug buying agency Pharmac will be asking suppliers for quotes in the coming days as it considers funding the technology.
"We'll be getting clinical advice, doing the negotiations," Pharmac's acting director of pharmaceuticals Geraldine MacGibbon said.
"We're hoping to consult by the end of this year or early next year for funding to begin in 2024."
While the devices can be bought privately, at $200 a month, it's not cheap.
"We know that there are approximately 25,000 people with type 1 diabetes who absolutely would be — we would hope — the first off the rank for this criteria," Diabetes New Zealand chief executive Heather Verry said.
Another opera singer Thomas McCabe is also a type 1 diabetic but uses a self-testing kit instead.
"When I'm coming here to the theatre, I'll be testing right when I get here and then I'll probably test half an hour later, especially if I've had to adjust something, to see if it's actually behaving the way I need it to be," he explained.
For Abernathy, the tool allows him the freedom to think about other things.
"I come off stage, I go into my dressing room and I can look at my phone and I can see exactly where I am," he said.
"It gives you so much more freedom. You don't have to think about your sugar."
SHARE ME