Diabetes UK, the leading charity for people with diabetes in the United Kingdom, issued the following position statement in July 2003.1 “People with diabetes should have access to home blood glucose monitoring based on individual clinical need, informed consent and not on ability to pay. Home monitoring is essential in the context of diabetes education for self-management in order to enable the person to make appropriate treatment or lifestyle choices.” The first part of this statement is not contentious, and most people would probably agree that people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes treated with insulin should regularly monitor blood glucose, not only to guide insulin doses but also to detect and avoid hypoglycaemia. However, is home blood glucose monitoring necessary for people with type 2 diabetes treated with oral hypoglycaemic agents and dietary modification?

Home blood glucose monitoring is a big business. The main profit for the …