Question

Which scenario best reflects a need for pharmacist referral for a person living with diabetes that has recently started using the FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus?

Answer 1

Best single scenario: A patient who started using the FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus and has had two or more recent severe or unexplained hypoglycemic episodes (one requiring assistance), or whose sensor readings frequently disagree with capillary blood glucose (CBG) checks and who reports being symptomatic but the sensor does not alarm.

Why this needs referral:
- Recurrent/severe hypoglycaemia (or hypoglycaemia unawareness) is high risk and usually requires urgent review of insulin dosing, meal/timing, and monitoring strategy by the prescriber/diabetes team.
- Repeated discordance between sensor and CBG could indicate sensor malfunction, incorrect placement, or need for fallback to finger-stick testing and manufacturer/support troubleshooting by clinical staff.

Immediate pharmacist actions:
- Treat/advise treatment of any current hypoglycaemia per protocol.
- Tell the patient to confirm suspicious readings with a finger-stick meter and not to rely solely on the sensor when symptomatic.
- Refer promptly to the patient’s diabetes prescriber/clinic (or emergency services if severe/ongoing symptoms) for urgent review and possible insulin regimen adjustment and device troubleshooting.