[Diabetes-talk] Getting Your Doctor To Get Prodigy Voice Software; was - question

[Eileen Scrivani]

Mike:

As a type 1 diabetic for 41 years, I know perfectly well that it is up to 
*me* to take care of my diabetes just as it is for every other diabetic on 
the face of the earth!  No one will care for my illness the way I can or do 
care for it.  It's pretty arrogant for anyone other than my doctor to tell 
me that I might *learn something* about my diabetic control by keeping track 
of my numbers since I have for a very long time been living with this 
disease, testing on a regular basis (many times during a day, every day) 
and have a dam good idea on where my diabetic control is at and when it goes 
out of whack,  along with those things that might cause control to waver.

As for the doctor being willing or unwilling to uninstall software that will 
work with the Prodigy meter or any other meter for that matter, then with * 
"great respect","* how do doctor's offices get the software to be able to 
connect patients meters?  I have been told by my doc that they in fact are 
able to connect the Bayer meter & one other brand that their office 
recommends, but of course, I am blind and cannot use those particular 
brands/models.  Doctor's offices that deal with a large diabetic population 
most certainly do have a way of obtaining & installing software that works 
with a variety of meters, including the Prodigy brand.  Not being a doctor, 
I can only guess at how the softwares are obtained by them.  If the Prodigy 
is so specialized that the doctor's office will not buy a sample meter &/or 
software that works in conjunction with it and If I am the only patient they 
have using it, I would bring it in and ask that they install the software 
since I cannot use it.  It is an accessibility issue that has long been 
neglected or at least not fully thought through, even by DDI.

Finally, when necessary I certainly am able to write down and keep a log of 
dates, times readings and more.  The problem for me as is for other 
diabetics that are blind is writing out the information in a format that can 
be visually glanced at by our doctors to be able to compare dates, times and 
high, lows and level good numbers.  This is an accessibility issue for many 
blind diabetics. I've seen numerous messages right here on this list 
regarding the pain-in-the-but methods we as blind diabetics have to employ 
to write out results, keeping logs and having access to meter software and 
connectability all for the sake of bringing in our information to our 
diabetic doctors & educators.  For my own knowledge, I don't have to see it, 
I have to hear it and that's where the meter's memory button comes into 
play.

Eileen