OBJECTIVES: Diabetic patients using a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device can receive supplies from a pharmacy or a durable medical equipment (DME) company. We compared CGM adherence rates and healthcare costs between patients who received their CGM devices from a pharmacy or a DME.

METHODS: The study period looked at quarterly cost and adherence between 2021Q1 and 2022Q1 using the Mariner Commercial Claims Database to identify individuals aged 18 and older with evidence of diabetes and an initial CGM claim in the first quarter of 2021 (index date). Patients were required to have continuous enrollment for 12 months and no claim for a CGM six months before the index date. Adherence was defined as a patient having a CGM-related claim in each sequential quarter. Mean costs were also calculated over this period. Pharmacy and DME groups were propensity-scored matched.

RESULTS: Analysis was conducted on 3,716 patients (Pharmacy = 1858; DME = 1858). Adherence was higher (z = 5.98, p< .01) in DME patients (49%) compared to pharmacy patients (39%), and at 12 months, the adherence rate still favored DME (41%) compared to pharmacy (33%; z = 5.05, p< .01). For adherent patients, mean healthcare costs for the DME cohort was $7380($5655), and for the pharmacy cohort, it was $8716($7408), the difference between the cohorts was statistically significant (t(2548.9)=-5.36, p<0.01). For non-adherent patients, there was also a difference in total costs (t(2188.3)=3.32, p<0.01) with the DME cohort ($7620($5844)) slightly higher ($7620($5844)) than the pharmacy ($6770($6045)) cohort.

CONCLUSIONS: The results from these real-world claims analyses suggest that patients who receive their CGM supplies from a DME are more adherent to their device than patients who get their supplies from a pharmacy. In addition, the results suggest that obtaining supplies through a DME places a lesser financial burden on payers and possibly patients.