Monsters—from the Id!

I got my Medtronic 780G pump in early October. Medtronic said they sent me a “starter set” of 30 reservoirs, 30 infusion sets, and 15 CGM sensors. When I had my training session with my regional rep, I asked about the carry bag that the videos on the site said was supposed to come with my set (I didn’t get one) and how I would get more reservoirs and infusion sets because I would need much more (I have to change it about once a day because I use a large quantity of insulin). He said he would check on the bag, and I could get the other supplies from Medtronic’s website.

When I started to run low on supplies toward the end of November, I placed an order using the website’s “custom order” feature. The site recommended 90 infusion sets, 90 reservoirs, and 15 sensors (a 90-day supply for me) and gave me a target ship date of December 22. Checking my order status on December 6, the order now said I would receive 30 reservoirs, 30 infusion sets, and 5 sensors on January 4.

I called Medtronic. The CSR said the site automatically changed quantities and ship dates based on my insurance. I called my insurance, who said Medtronic needed to send an authorization request for earlier shipping and larger quantities. I called Medtronic back, and they said they couldn’t change quantities without an updated prescription from my doctor. I sent my endocrinologist a message. To no one’s surprise, I would think, it turns out that Medtronic has to send her a form that she authorizes and sends back.

So here’s the catch:

• Medtronic won’t change anything from what the insurance allows without authorization from the doctor.
• Medtronic’s website doesn’t alert anyone of unusually high quantities being ordered and doesn’t inform the customer of that fact. Instead, the ordering system adjusts quantities and ship dates without anyone at Medtronic ever receiving a notification that might prompt them to reach out to either the customer or the doctor.
• The CSR said they couldn’t send the form to the doctor for an updated prescription because they could only ship the amount the insurance authorized.

In other words, Medtronic wouldn’t take the the necessary steps to obtain insurance authorization to change quantities because, based on the original prescription, the insurance only allowed them to send me about a third of the supplies I’d need for 90 days.

I got through to a supervisor who said they would send the form to my endocrinologist, create an order to send me the balance of supplies I would need (although, at this point, I would only need enough to get me to January 4, when I’m scheduled for a new shipment anyway, though who knows what I’d get at that point), and follow up with me. Later that day, I received a text message from Parachute (the ordering system Northwestern Medicine and Medtronic use) that said my endocrinologist had authorized the form, and Medtronic was “reviewing” it. The last time I checked my order status, it showed the order as the supervisor had set it up, with a target ship date of December 22 (yesterday). Note that in over two weeks, I’ve never heard back from anyone at Medtronic, and now they’ve missed the target ship date.

And I’m supposed to trust these people with my health?