I got through reading this thouroughly engaging post from Kerri Sparling over at diaTribe. It’s a very helpful post that gives People With Diabetes real information to consider when deciding whether to share or not share continuous glucose monitor (CGM) data via NightScout, the Dexcom G5 Mobile CGM, or MiniMed Connect/Carelink.
As I said, I thought the post was very helpful, but what also struck me was how we now have three different BG data sharing platforms to choose from.
When I considered that, I had a reaction that went something like: “Wha… what? Two years ago we didn’t have any! Now there are three!”. On the surface, it’s a no-brainer. Why not be able to share data from your CGM? But it took Nightscout, in my opinion, to get that ball rolling. Once people, and mostly device makers, saw that, and considered the possibilities for themselves, they were all on board. Makes perfect sense.
But there’s something else to consider too. Think about this: If you’re using a CGM and you decide to share, you now have to decide who to share your data with, and the rules regarding that shared data. It’s as if the gods said “Well, you don’t have enough diabetes stuff to think about already, let’s roll out something new to give you even more to worry about”.
That’s in addition to the fact that we now have, essentially, three separate apps sharing data across three separate platforms. It’s great to have choices. The more choices we have, the more likely it is that we’ll find something we really like. We need that. But again… more decisions. Which to choose? That’s easy if you’re using the Enlite sensor from Medtronic. But if you’re a Dexcom user, you have two options to choose from.
On the other hand, these are good problems to have. And parents of kids with diabetes, especially, have been wanting something like this since forever. I know, because I’ve asked them. I’ve been at JDRF Type One Nation events where parents see remote monitoring for the first time and simply ache for it. For them, it’s choices, schmoices. They’ll take anything as long as it works, because it allows for both more freedom for their child, and more knowledge of how the child’s diabetes is performing throughout the day. More choices? More decisions to make? Bring it on! They don’t care. Parents are awesome that way.
It’s very interesting for me, this realization that these three data sharing platforms seem almost ho-hum now. Sharing CGM data already seems like it’s been a part of our lives for quite a while. But it’s been less than two years between having and keeping CGM data to ourselves, and having the ability to share it with people a world away.
We live in a fast-paced world powered by technology. The latest innovations are making their way toward us faster than ever. The trick will be, of course, in not investing our time working for our data. But rather making the data work for us, for our health, for our safety, for our happiness.
You know what? We are worth it. #WeAreNotWaiting
Diabetes Blog - Happy-Medium.net 