To the Editor: Our positive experience with insulin pump therapy (IPT) in children without private health insurance contrasts with that of Thong and colleagues,1 who found that IPT did not significantly reduce glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in uninsured adults.
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- 1. Thong KY, Fegan PG, Yeap BB. Glycaemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes after provision of public hospital-funded insulin pumps [letter]. Med J Aust 2009; 191: 291. <MJA full text>
- 2. National Health and Medical Research Council. Clinical practice guidelines: type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 2005. http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/file/publications/synopses/cp102.pdf (accessed Dec 2009).
- 3. McMahon SK, Airey FL, Marangou DA, et al. Insulin pump therapy in children and adolescents; improvements in key parameters of diabetes management including quality of life. Diabet Med 2005; 22: 92-96.
- 4. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Type 1 Diabetes Insulin Pump Program. Frequently asked questions — patients. http://www.jdrf.org.au/s/media/insulin_pump_frequently_asked_questions.pdf (accessed Dec 2009).
- 5. Australia, House of Representatives 2009, Debates, 16 June 2009. Mr Darren Chester MP. Gippsland electorate: insulin pump therapy program. http://www.openaustralia.org/debates/?id=2009-06-16.61.1 (accessed Dec 2009).
- 6. Goss PW, Paterson MA, Renalson J. A “radical” new rural model for pediatric diabetes care. Pediatr Diabetes 2009 Sep 4. [Published online ahead of print.] DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-5448.2009.00594.x.
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Comments from Professor Kevin Grumbach and Professor Tom Bodenheimer are gratefully acknowledged.
Medtronic Australasia provided a grant to research and publish the results of our rural insulin pump program. Medtronic had no input into the content of this letter. I attended Australian Paediatric Society insulin pump workshops in 2008 and 2009 that were sponsored by Medtronic, Animas, Cosmo, Novo Nordisk and Lilly. I have received two Novo Nordisk regional diabetes grants for rural diabetes research.