I'm a GP and keen investor. I also like ITD but not for the...

I'm a GP and keen investor.

I also like ITD but not for the MyHealthTest.

There may be a small role for HbA1c monitoring at home but I don't see it causing any paradigm shifts in diabetic care.

Three monthly HbA1cs for type 1 diabetics or poorly controlled T2s is supported by evidence. For well controlled, non insulin dependent T2s then 6 or 12 monthly is sufficient. It can also be used as a 'screening' test for patients not yet diagnosed but have risk factors like obesity - Medicare pays for its use as a screening test for high risk individuals. Because the test measures a medium term 'average' of your blood sugar, there's no need to test any more frequently than what is outlined above.

Like others have suggested though, monitoring the HbA1c is just one part of management. Blood pressure, monitoring of eye health, kidney health, foot health, cardiac issues, diet and several other areas - primarily monitoring and treating early potential complications of diabetes. All of this is achieved and coordinated with your GP visit and occasionally with your endocrinology or hospital visit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for patient driven care and findings ways to increase patient autotonomy - I just don't think monitoring an HbA1c in isolation at home necessarily improves diabetic care or outcomes. It's not solving a problem. Furthermore the last thing doctors would want is for their diabetics to stay at home taking a false sense of security from an HbA1c reading when there's potential complications like heart disease going unchecked.