British Columbia, January 26, 2021
JDRF Canada is hosting a series of virtual community forums to address the need for access to affordable type 1 diabetes (T1D) technologies for the more than 300,000 Canadians living with the disease who are otherwise burdened with crushing out-of-pocket costs that can amount to up to $15,000 every year per person.
Part of JDRF’s #AccessforAll campaign, these ‘Community Consultations on Diabetes and Technology’ events provide an opportunity for residents to come together to discuss public coverage issues and to encourage public coverage of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and flash glucose monitoring (Flash GM) devices under BC Pharmacase.
Community Consultations on Diabetes and Technology: Access for All community forum
Fraser Valley: January 26th, 2021 at 7:00 PM PST.
Speakers: Sarah Linklater (Clinician) & Sophia Orth (Advocate)
Register here.
Northern & Island: January 28th, 2021 at 7:00 PM PST.
Speakers: Beena Kashyap (Clinician) & Lisa Macdonell (Advocate)
Register here.
Interior: Febuary 2nd, 2021 at 7:00 PM PST.
Speakers: Katie Fletcher (Clinician) & Alyssa Florence (Advocate)
Register here.
Vancouver Coastal: February 4th, 2021 at 7:00 PM PST.
Speakers: Tom Elliot (Clinician) & Miguel Alvarez (Advocate)
Register here.
Find us online: breakthrought1d.ca, breakthrought1d.ca/accessforall, #AccessforAll, JDRF Canada Facebook, JDRF Canada Instagram
With an estimated 40,000 people living with type 1 diabetes in British Columbia, a large number of residents are battling the following realities associated with T1D:
- Every year, about 1.4% of patients with type 1 diabetes are hospitalized due to hypoglycemia at a mean cost of C$3,775 per patient per year. Another 1.5% of T1D patients end up with extra clinical appointments because of hypoglycemia at a mean cost of $157 per patient per year.
- Parents, children, and adults live with this everyday. Many parents and patients check blood glucose levels every 2 hours – even throughout the night – to prevent hospitalization.
- Patients with type 1 diabetes from a very young age and their families must manage their disease with insulin either through a pump or through injection. Even with this attention, patients may experience metabolic disorders, loss of consciousness or coma in the short term.
- Over the long term, people with type 1 diabetes can experience serious complications, including stroke, heart disease, nerve damange, and eye damage, leading to blindness, amputations and death. Each complication is a significant burden to patients, their families, and our health care system. New and innovative advanced glucose monitoring technologies, such as CGM and FGM are the standard of care in helping patients and families with type 1 diabetes to manage the disease, with great benefits to their quality of life. But with no public coverage for these devices, patients are left to cover the high costs out-of-pocket.
- Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, the hormone tha enables people to get energy from food. This leads to higher levels of glucose in the blood and no amount of diet or exercise can prevent it.
For more information about the Community Consultations on Diabetes and Technology upcoming locations and dates, to learn more about this pressing Canadian health issue, or to arrange interviews and/or photo opportunities, please contact:
Vanessa Parent
Bilingual Marketing & Communications Specialist at JDRF Canada
C: (647) 459-7881
About JDRF Canada
JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Our mission is to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. To accomplish this, JDRF has invested more than $2.8 billion in research funding since our inception. We are an organization built on a grassroots model of people connecting in their local communities, collaborating regionally for efficiency and broader fundraising impact, and uniting on a national stage to pool resources, passion, and energy. We collaborate with academic institutions, governments, and corporate and industry partners to develop and deliver a pipeline of innovative therapies to people living with T1D. Our staff and volunteers throughout Canada and six international affiliates are dedicated to advocacy, community engagement and our vision of a world without T1D. For more information, please visit breakthrought1d.ca.
