Patient-Centered Guidance for Healthcare Providers
Healthcare providers play a vital role in supporting individuals living with diabetes manage a complex condition. The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) recently highlighted five evidence-informed strategies to help tailor a patient-centred approach to diabetes management and care.
By focusing on patient preferences and priorities, these strategies can enhance the therapeutic relationship, improve self-management, and support better outcomes for people living with diabetes:
1. Use supportive language
Building rapport with people living with diabetes by using encouraging and respectful language helps foster a stronger therapeutic alliance. It can also support positive behaviour change and self-management. For example, using terms like “living with diabetes” or “managing a chronic condition” instead of labels like “diabetic” or “disease,” and focusing on collaborative goal-setting rather than solely on A1C results, can help make conversations more empowering, inclusive, and motivating.2
2. Align care goals with patient priorities
People living with diabetes manage this chronic condition all day, every day. Their care goals may shift based on life events, mental health, social or cultural context, and other similar factors. Healthcare providers can work with patients to set realistic goals that reflect their current priorities and refer to accessible online tools that support self-management. The article references Type1Better’s practical guides, which include topics such as emergency preparedness, meal planning, and exercise considerations. Providing these kinds of resources can help patients feel more prepared and supported in navigating everyday challenges.
3. Personalize hypoglycemia treatment
Hypoglycemia can be both physically and emotionally distressing, and each person experiences it differently. It's important for healthcare providers to recognize and acknowledge these individual differences—particularly in how people may prefer to respond. A flexible, patient-centred approach is crucial. Treatment plans should be developed and adjusted as needed, recognizing that what works for one person may not work for another. The goal is to support individuals in managing hypoglycemia in ways that are safe, effective, and personally meaningful.
4. Encourage consideration of diabetes technologies
Support patients in exploring tools such as continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and automated insulin delivery (AID) systems. The Dexcom G7 real-time Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (rtCGM), for example, has been clinically proven to significantly reduce A1C, increase time in range (TIR), and reduce time spent in hypoglycemia.3-6 Dexcom CGM has also been shown to improve treatment satisfaction and overall well-being.§,7,8 Advanced diabetes technologies, such as the Dexcom G7, can support more responsive and personalized diabetes care, helping patients feel more confident and in control of their condition.
When discussing diabetes technology, tools, and options with patients, it’s important to align recommendations with their current priorities. By centring the conversation on individual preferences, goals, and lifestyle, healthcare providers can guide patients in choosing what matters most to them. The comparison chart below highlights a few key rtCGM features that can facilitate individualized decision-making.
Feature | Dexcom G7 | Freestyle Libre 3 Plus |
| Sensor accuracy (MARD)* | Adults, 8.2% Pediatrics, 8.1% | Adults, 8.2% Pediatrics, 8.2% |
| Sensory accuracy (%20/20) upper arm*,† | Adult & Pediatrics, 94.6% | Adults, 93.7% Pediatrics, 93.2% |
| Automated insulin delivery (AID) system compatible | ✅ Yes Tandem T:slim X2 Omnipod® 5 | 🚫 No |
| Predictive Urgent Low Soon alert‡ | ✅ Yes | 🚫 No |
| Number of available connections | Up to 3 Phone, Smartwatch, Receiver or insulin pump (AID) | 1 Phone or Receiver |
| Direct to Apple Watch|| | ✅ Yes | 🚫 No |
| Waterproof | ✅ Yes, waterproof 2.4 metres for 24 hours | 🚫 No, water resistant 1 metre for 30 minutes |
| Remote monitoring | ✅ Yes Dexcom Follow | ✅ Yes LibreLinkUp |
Download the complete, detailed comparison here
5. Support in-hospital self-management
Many people living with diabetes value maintaining independence in their diabetes care during hospital stays—for example, monitoring their glucose with their rtCGM devices or adjusting insulin dosing. When clinically appropriate, supporting in-hospital self-management may help preserve patient autonomy, dignity, and confidence.
Collaboration between healthcare providers and patients is essential to discuss, plan, and document self-management preferences in the event of hospitalization, ensuring that roles, responsibilities, and expectations are clearly defined and respected.
The CMAJ notes that effective diabetes care extends beyond clinical expertise and depends on positive communication, individualized support, and shared decision-making. Centering care on each patient’s priorities and preferences can support better outcomes and a stronger practitioner-patient relationship.
Continue improving patient care with the Dexcom Education Hub
For healthcare providers looking to apply these strategies, the Dexcom Education Hub offers the latest clinical evidence, expert insights, and practical tools on real-time continuous glucose monitoring and other technologies. This free resource is designed to help doctors, clinicians, and pharmacists stay informed and confident in supporting improved health outcomes for their patients.
View more on the Dexcom Education Hub for healthcare providers
MAT-10900 v1.0
* Sensors measure were worn on back of the upper arm.
† Percentage of sensor readings that fall within +/-1.1 mmol/L of the Yellow Springs Instrument (YSI) blood glucose values.
‡ This predictive alert can be triggered with impending hypoglycemia (glucose of 3.1 mmol/L or below is predicted to occur within the next 20 minutes).
§ Overall well being and treatment satisfaction evaluated by WHO-5 and DTSQ.
|| Directly connect the sensor to the Apple watch. Users can go phone-free and still see their glucose/get alerts. Compatible smartphone is required to pair a new Dexcom G7 sensor with a compatible Apple Watch. To use Share/Follow your compatible Apple Watch must be connected to the internet via Wi-fi.
1 Mike Bleskie, Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret and Cathy J. Sun. CMAJ. 2025;197(2):E45-E46; doi:https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.241452
2 Banasiak K, Cleary D, Bajurny V, et al. Language matters – A Diabetes Canada Consensus statement. Can J Diabetes. 2020;44(5):370-373. doi:10.1016/j.jcjd.2020.05.008
3 Martens et al_Effect Of Continuous Glucose Monitoring On Glycemic Control In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Treated With Basal Insulin: A Randomized Clinical Trial_Supplemental Online Content, JAMA 2021
4 Laffel, et al_Effect of Continuous Glucose Monitoring On Glycemic Control In Adolescents And Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes A Randomized Clinical Trial_JAMA, Volume 323, Number 23, 2020
5 Beck, et al_Effect of Continuous Glucose Monitoring on Glycemic Control in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes Using Insulin Injections The DIAMOND Randomized Clinical Trial_JAMA, Volume 317, Number 4, January 2017
6 Welsh et al. Comparisons Of Fifth-, Sixth-, And Seventh-Generation Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, First published online June 13, 2022 Citation: Welsh JB, et al. Comparisons Of Fifth-, Sixth-, And Seventh-Generation Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2024;18(1):143-7.
7 Lind M, et al. Sustained Intensive Treatment and Long-term Effects on HbA1c Reduction (SILVER Study) by CGM in People With Type 1 Diabetes Treated With MDI. Diabetes Care 1 January 2021; 44 (1): 141–149. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc20-1468
8 Lind N, et al. Comparing Continuous Glucose Monitoring and Blood Glucose Monitoring in Adults With Inadequately Controlled, Insulin-Treated Type 2 Diabetes (Steno2tech Study): A 12-Month, Single-Center, Randomized Controlled Trial. Diabetes Care 19 April 2024; 47 (5): 881–889. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc23-2194