I refer to my clarity report a couple a times a day.
I use either my IPad or my phone.. while the Data is the same it’s easier to read on the tablet.
I also use my phone as well as the Dexcom receiver to view my glucose level. I use the receiver in my car while driving as not to interfere my phones driving tracker.
I have had my phone DIE a couple of time leaving hole in my clarity data..
My question is without me having to shut down my phone and turning the on to find the answer.
Does ant know if the Dexcom receiver by itself can up date Clairty.
You should be able to upload from your Dexcom receiver to Clarity using the Dexcom Uploader app on your computer. That is how I used to do it in the days before having the data on my phone
When you restart the 'phone and the app (I assume one of the Dexcom ones) it reconnects to the transmitter and recovers the lost data. IRC for the G6 that is 30 minutes but for the G7 it’s much longer, 24 hours?
If you are not getting the data (up to the G6 or G7 limits) in Clarity that’s a customer support call; something is wrong!
I know this works because I use the G7 with xDrip+ (not a Dexcom app) and it reliably “backfills” the data and, indeed, uploads it to NightScout (my equivalent of Clarity.)
The Dexcom receiver is clunky but I like that. Since I’m on MediCare I am obliged to use the receiver to get my sensors covered but I don’t want my data uploaded to Dexcom. The receiver doesn’t do an upload until you connect it to another Dexcom app on a computer (if you take it into an endo they will do that.)
Dexcom is required to send you a receiver with each new upgrade, but you are not required to use it. Medicare patients have been allowed to use their phones for a few years now.
On Medicare we are required to use it “every few days”. Here’s the Dexcom page, which is inaccurate since they didn’t update it for the 2022 change correctly:
And here is the relevant line:
If you don’t use your receiver, you’ll lose Medicare coverage for your Dexcom G6 or Dexcom G7 CGM supplies.
You can see Dexcom’s breakdown of the requirements in the following paragraph. The CMS links are out of date.
The actual CMS link is on the page but Dexcom have obfuscated it:
It took me a long time to find that. Reminds me of the start of Hitchhikers where Arthur Dent is attempting to find the planning application that permits the demolition of his house. A minor matter of course, given that the whole planet is about to be demolished, but apposite.
Bear in mind that Dexcom are saying the receiver and its use are required. The relevant CMS entry from the above page seems to be:
The CGM is prescribed in accordance with its FDA indications for use
So. Yeah. Someone is lying; hardly surprising, truth is outdated. The question though is not what the lies are but what the truth is.
I believe with the G7 you will find published that a phone may replace the receiver for Medicare patients. It was either in the Dexcom Manual or on their Website, I don’t remember which.
I found the following on their website, weird as heck.
“If you use the receiver (classified as DME) to display glucose data, Medicare covers CGM system supplies and accessories. There is no Medicare coverage if the receiver isn’t classified as DME. However, you can use the app (on your smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, etc) as well as the receiver.”
The receiver by itself cannot transmit data to Clarity. It can be connected to a computer with a USB cable to upload the data. How do I upload my Dexcom receiver to Clarity? | Dexcom
The G6 transmitter stores 3 hours of readings overwriting the oldest reading each time it stores a new one. The G7 stores 24 hours of readings. The Dexcom G6 app uploads to Clarity once every 12-ish hours unless you have share turned on then it uploads every reading.
Do you know you can see up to 24 hours of data in the G6 and G7 apps by turning the phone sideways (landscape)? I mention it in case that is easier than using Clarity.
The Dexcom web pages have been copy-edited to death. Medicare changes rules regularly and I’ve yet to find the specific rule on the CMS web sites. The Medicare customer service guy (i.e. the federal employee) knew nothing about CGMs until our conversation; I spent half an hour providing unreimbursed training
The Dexcom page does go into a whole series of instructions about how often we must use the receiver. Just read down until you find them…
The current state is reflected by an email I received an hour ago from Edwards (“Edwards Healt Care[sic] Services”):
To ship a 90-day supply of G7 sensors, we are pending a prescription and progress notes from your provider’s office [* * *] to confirm eligibility with the insurance. I see the notes stating you already have a G7 Reader and just needed to confirm what insurance that was secured under and around when it was initially obtained.
So Edwards seems to think the receiver is required and, indeed, that is exactly what the Dexcom web page says. Of course Edwards also wants to ship me a receiver because then they make money so they are very biased to believe Dexcom’s interpretation.
Slightly off topic: Edwards is my latest attempt to get G7 sensors under Part B. I would prefer it if people referred to Part B as “assurance”, not “insurance”; we built the trust fund, it’s our money and when it runs out we will be SOL. There’s no insurance because there is no backer; no one like the syndicates in Lloyds of London.
I keep my last previous phone on hand in case of such an emergency. I use it to play podcasts to save the battery on my current CGM phone, which also means I know it’s working. The old phone uses the same SIM card, though that’s not necessary for it to do CGM.
This seems to be another of those “it depends” things, where Medicare is not all the same. I’ve been on G7 for two years, have never had a Dexcom G7 receiver, and have never been denied coverage. Dunno whether I just slid in under the radar, or if there’s a difference in plans, or if Dexcom isn’t up to date, or if it matters that I’m getting sensors through a pharmacy rather than a DME supplier.
I remember that there was a lot of hoopla over this several years ago, due to regs that the receiver was DME and supposed to last five years blah blah blah. I remember that this got sorted out but I don’t remember exactly how. It really sounds like Dexcom is spouting advice from before that time. (And as pointed out, may have a warehouse full of G7 receivers they’d like to unload.)
I was just reading this section of the Part B CGM policy doc for John. Medicare is only checking that the code for a CGM receiver has been paid (or logged if obtained prior to medicare). They aren’t checking for which receiver.