Recent research has found that even though a blood glucose monitor meets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s standards for accuracy to gain device approval, the meter or test strips used in the meter may not perform as well as expected in the real world. And, those errors can have potentially life-threatening consequences.

In addition, users of the Omnipod Insulin Management System are being asked to stop using the monitor built into the Personal Diabetes Manager until Abbott can replace the Freestyle glucose test strips with new ones that will work with that meter.

The idea of using a “port” to reduce pinpricks is not new, and it has a good lab track record. Research done in 2008 has shown that port therapy is just as effective in transmitting insulin into the body as traditional insulin injections.

Are big swings in blood glucose a condition or the result of improper treatment? Attempts to define brittle diabetes, or even verify its existence, have perhaps fallen short. Some experts still believe in brittle diabetes as a distinct condition, while others conclude it’s no more than a myth.

Say hello to a new diabetes device on the scene, promising “pain-free” blood draws that can be used on fingertips or other spots — and that’s designed to look more like a magic marker than a boring old medical device.

It’s not an app. It’s not a pump. It’s a super-pen from Novo Nordisk called the NovoPen Echo, one of which I’ve been test-driving lately. It’s the world’s first half-unit dosing pen with a memory.

For years, people with diabetes have worried about the times when their meters and test strips have given inconsistent results. Dr. Richard Melker, a Florida physician diagnosed with T1 at the age of 53, has experienced the fear that inaccurate test strip readings can bring.

One report from earlier this month indicated that a “Healthbook” app under development for iOS 8 will be able “to read glucose-related data,” while another report has warned not to expect glucose sensing built directly into the initial iWatch.

What’s driving insulin price increases is a complex question with many answers. One factor that can be ruled out is the basic price of producing insulin. Ever since pharma companies mastered the technique of using bacteria to create synthetic analog insulin in the eighties, the cost of insulin production has remained relatively affordable.

About the size of a quarter, the injection port attaches to the skin like a bandage and allows users to receive insulin injections repeatedly in the same spot for up to three days.

Abbott hasn’t yet contacted customers directly, but say they’re in the process of sending out letters — but the D-Community hasn’t yet received those and many are confused about what’s going on. We’ve got some pertinent info to share, and will update this post as details come in.

The OneTouch VerioSync Meter with companion OneTouch Reveal Mobile app provides patients with their key information at a glance. It has a color-coded bar graph that shows the percentage of results that are within, above and below their personalized target ranges.