Happy National Diabetes Awareness Month!

Happy November 1st!

It's officially National Diabetes Awareness Month. All of November is dedicated to raising diabetes awareness: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and prediabetes.

Because as we're seeing year over year and time after time, the instances of diabetes around the world continue to rise. But why raise awareness?

Because today, 1 in 5 people 65 years or older have type 2 diabetes. Likewise, 36% of the US population alone has prediabetes (many don't even know it).

To reiterate, that's 117,252,000 people in the United States living with prediabetes. Type 1 diabetes numbers continue to rise at alarming rates, regardless of race, ethnicity, or sex.

Raising awareness is important. We need to keep that type 2 number from rising to 1 in 4 people. We need to make sure people know enough about diabetes to keep someone from going into (awareness saves lives!).

We, the people with diabetes, can learn more to make informed changes to better ourselves both now and longterm. Awareness matters.

Changing the Game

Typically, in these awareness posts, we like to show you what's going on in the world of diabetes with stats. Lots of stats.

But this year, we're taking a different approach. Instead, we want to shed some light on all the good that's happening in the world of diabetes.

All of the advancements and greatness we've seen. We have two more months to go in 2018, but now is as great a time as any to take a look at the progress we've all made so far this year.

• Dexcom G6 - The no-calibration continuous glucose monitor (CGM) gets FDA-approval.
• FreeStyle Libre - Another CGM comes to market in the US!
• ADA-EASD Type 2 Consensus Statement - The world's leading diabetes organizations put the person with diabetes (PWD) at the epicenter of care in their joint 2018 statement.
• Fiasp - A new, alternative fast-acting (bolus) insulin comes to market in the US, Europe, and Canada.
• Apple Patent for Possible Glucose Monitoring - The tech giant submits a patent application for what appears to be a non-invasive glucose monitoring solution for use in Apple Watch.
• Toujeo Max SoloStar - The highest capacity long-acting (basal) insulin becomes available in manufacturer efforts to lessen copay costs.
• Adam Brown Audiobook - The Bright Spots & Landmines guru takes his ultimate diabetes guide to audio!
• Tandem Basal-IQ - The pump's new predictive low glucose suspend function stops basal insulin delivery when it detects low blood glucose is on the way, and resumes delivery when levels normalize.
• CGM Coverage Updated for Medicare/Medicaid Beneficiaries - CMS.gov updates its CGM coverage policy to include smartphone app usage (previously, connected device usage meant non-coverage for CGMs).
• T1D at the 2018 Winter Olympics - Cross-Country Skier Kris Freeman, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 19, represents Team USA in PyeongChang.
• Companion InPen - The smart insulin pen comes to market and uses bluetooth technology to calculate and record insulin doses without being tethered to a pump.
• GLP-1s - The new drug class gains noteworthy momentum and recognition for its substantial benefits to blood sugar management, weight loss, and heart health.
• Fitbit Invests in CGM Startup Sano - The wearable device manufacturer gets into diabetes health solution development.
• IDx-DR AI Software Approved - FDA approves new AI technology that detects diabetic retinopathy.
• One Drop | Chrome Connects to Apple Watch - One Drop | Chrome now sends blood glucose readings directly to the Apple Watch.
• One Drop | Automated Decision Support - People with type 2 diabetes, not on insulin, using One Drop | Mobile now have customized blood glucose forecasts and actionable insights sent directly to their app via One Drop AI technology.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg!

Our tribe is getting louder, and we're being heard. All over the world.

20 years ago, only tubed pumps were available; now, we have multiple tubeless pumps!

Not even 5 years ago, A1c was king; now, time-in-range is becoming more widely recognized as an important clinical outcome!

One year ago, we had access to only one CGM here in the U.S. Today, not only are there multiple CGM options, but two of the major ones are getting Medicare/Medicaid coverage. Times are changing, fast. And for the better.

Cloud Computing FTW ☁️

Speaking of fast and better times, here at One Drop we're making sure that all this data access is being put to very good use.

We're moving beyond the numbers, and taking a hard look at actionable insights. We're taking all of that data (your blood glucose levels on your Chrome, your CGM numbers, your activity minutes, your food intake, etc.) and we're helping you better understand it.

With our Automated Decision Support, we'll take your blood glucose data point, and tell you what to do with it! Right then, right there, and hours ahead.

This new connectedness we're seeing across the board — from One Drop to Apple, from FreeStyle to Companion, from Tandem to Novo Nordisk — goes beyond our numbers.

Finally, we're getting to a place where we (the people with diabetes) can take all those numbers, and proactively do something beneficial with them. Whether it means using those numbers to change up a workout routine, a way of eating, or a medication requirement, is up to us.

But we are finally getting to a place where we can make sense of all of this data, and then do something with it in the same moment.

GIVEAWAY! 🌟

Since it's the greatest month of the year, what better way to celebrate than with some giveaways.

In honor of all we've accomplished by working together and sharing our data moments, we're giving away some very special certified diabadass souvenirs.

Stay tuned for our announcement in the next few days!