The Diabetic Shoppe is education oriented.  Our customer service personnel and our sales representatives are trained to help patients use the supplies in the manner in which you ordered.  We know how to talk to people about little things that can make their lives easier: diet, exercise, dealing with stress, monitoring, problem solving, reducing risks and taking their medication.  Some of our patients have called about the meter they have seen advertised on TV that they don’t have to stick themselves.  We have to explain to them that this is misleading.  All meters require that they draw blood from somewhere. Almost every meter has a lancet device that allows for alternate site testing.  We explain about this and tell them to check with their doctor to be sure that alternate site testing is appropriate for them.  We also give them tips about helping with the finger soreness from having to stick all the time.  When we talk to them about what they eat, we use the Glycemic Index.  You may want to keep some of these in your office to use when you talk to your patients about their diet.  You can go to our website and download a PDF of the Glycemic Index.  To read more about Glycemic  Index click pdf  

The Diabetic Shoppe has multiple supply sources.  We can provide almost any brand that you or your patient wants.  We have the Bayer products that are the name brand that many people recognize and then we have the Easy Check.  We have done the research on this meter and it has been proven to be as easy to use by patients as any other meter.  It meets all the international standards that the name brand products meet for accuracy and reliability.  It takes 7 seconds to test, it holds 450 readings in memory and requires the same amount of blood for testing as most of the other meters.  If you ever run into any problems with any meters we want to know about it.  We will replace the meters and deal with changing the patient to something else, if that is what needs to be done.   Most of the meters have the computer programs that will allow you to download and print the memory from your patients’ meters so you will have a copy of their log in their chart.  We will be glad to load the computer program on your computer and teach your staff how to use the program to help you maintain an accurate check on your patients’ blood glucose levels. The meters that we leave with you require that the patient get their supplies from a mail order supply company.  Eventually Medicare will require that mail order be the only source for supplies.  The patient gets the benefits of delivery to their home plus the customer service that we provide.   The Diabetic Shoppe can also provide other products – heating pads, walkers, beside the bed toilet chairs – if needed.  At this point we do not deliver insulin because of the need for refrigeration.  But we are giving consideration to this.

(If asked, always be honest with the fact that we make more money off the generic meters.  Medicare is cutting reimbursement levels and in order to stay in business we have to try to maintain our income level in order to provide the kind of quality that we need to provide.)

*The author of this blog is not a medical professional and this article does not contain professional medical advice. This blog is not intended to substitute for medical advice, treatment, or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of the contents of this article. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 immediately.