Talking device offers freedom

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This article was published 08/03/2010 (5660 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AFTER a five-year battle, Manitoba Health has finally approved coverage for the first talking glucometer, which blind and diabetic Manitobans say is essential to allow them to live independently.

"It gives that freedom and independence. You can travel, you can have a job," said Eric MacKinder, Winnipeg chapter president of the Alliance For Equality of Blind Canadians. "It opens up a bunch of equal opportunities."

Before the EZ Health Oracle strips were approved for coverage on Feb. 18, visually impaired diabetics weren’t able to take their own sugar levels. Many had to hire a home-care worker to do so.

"They only come two times a day, and it’s not controlled," said MacKinder, who is also visually impaired with diabetes. "Lack of control leads to more complications."

The Oracle is the first of its kind approved in Canada. The talking device is about the size of a credit card, with a large screen. It’s simple, said MacKinder, with one big button at the front and the kind of technology that talks you through the process of getting the sample.

"It’s really easy to use. It’s small, it has a big screen, so it’s easy to read," said Penny Cassle, customer relations for Wholesale Medical Network, which manufactures the device.

The Oracle walks you through the process of getting a blood-sugar reading, indicating room temperature, the steps to take a sample, and the results. The strips are pointed at one end and serrated at the other, which makes it easy to feel your way around the process, MacKinder said.

Cassle said the device stores results, which is important for diabetics to understand long-term trends. The results are also downloadable.

"They can email it to their doctor," she said.

MacKinder estimates about 1,500 Manitobans are living with blindness and diabetes. Diabetes can cause blindness, which makes it difficult for people to monitor their condition.

Getting a talking glucometer is essential for independence, MacKinder said, a battle fought against Health Canada since 2004. The Canadian National Institute for the Blind stopped advocating for blind diabetics in 2002, which MacKinder said made it difficult for them to get Health Canada to approve the device.

Manitoba is the second-last province to approve coverage for Oracle strips. Ontario still refuses.

Talking devices have been readily available in the U.S. and the United Kingdom for years, said MacKinder, Before the device was approved, MacKinder said, he had to have strips for another talking model he owned shipped by family from the U.K.

With the cost of home visits around $50, MacKinder said the newly approved device will provide huge savings in home-care costs. "The millions it’s going to save in health-care costs is amazing."

He also said it will help people in remote areas and on reserves who don’t have consistent access to home care.

Richard Campbell has been living with diabetes for 31 years and lost his sight eight years ago.

"It really changes your life, the blindness," Campbell said. "It’s great we have the Oracle now, but we should have had it five years ago."

Getting the device will change the lives of people across Manitoba, MacKinder said. "It’s like someone opened a door and said, ‘you’re free.’ "

jenny.ford@freepress.mb.ca