What You Should Know Before Buying Diabetes Supplies

Have you been diagnosed with either type 1 or typ2 diabetes? If you have, you may be wondering where the best place is to purchase the diabetes supplies that you need. With today's technology, the avenues available to you are plentiful. However, you may still have questions as to which place is the best for your particular situation. These tips will help you answer those questions.

1- When you are beginning your search for a diabetic supply source, it is important to know what to look for. While you can purchase the needed supplies from your doctor, online or through a mail order company, some important questions need to be answered before you decide. You will need to know where they are located, what the hours of operation are, how qualified the staff is to answer questions and how they will ship the diabetes supplies to you.

2- First, do not deal with any diabetes supply company that is not based in the United States or in Canada. The reason for this is simple, if the supply company is not in North America, shipping tends to be less dependable and your supplies could be held in customs. Avoid supply sources that are located in South America, Asia or Mexico for these reasons.

3- While you are conducting your search, be sure go check that the companies you are considering have an actual address that isn't a P.O. Box. What you are looking for is that any diabetes supply company you are thinking of purchasing from is a real company, not someone who is, for instance, buying and reselling supplies.

4- Be sure to ask for a telephone number that you can use if something goes wrong with your order. The best option here is to use a company that has a 1-800 number that is answered 24 hours a day. It is also important to test that number before you decide to buy from that company. Don't just take their word that they have the number actually test it. Ask the person who answers the phone some basic questions about a specific diabetes supply; you want to know that they have knowledgeable people answering questions.

5- While you are checking for a knowledgeable staff, ask if they have a pharmacist on staff. If they don't, find out if they have a certified diabetes educator on staff that can answer your questions. This will help to ensure that you are dealing with a reputable firm and not a fly by night company.

6- You also want to know who fills out the insurance or Medicare paperwork. Most larger, well-run diabetes supply companies will offer this service for you as an added benefit. They will know what the insurance companies require to process a claim. If they offer this to you, use the service to your advantage. It is also a good idea to contact your insurance company to verify that they work with a particular diabetes supply source.

7- Shipping is very important when purchasing diabetes supplies. Find out how they ship the products, this information could ensure that you get supplies that are good and that have not gone bad in transit. Insulin, for example needs to be kept cold to stay useable, ask how they ensure this. Ask about shipping charges also, some companies will offer free shipping as an incentive to buy from them. However, if they don't, the shipping can get expensive.

About the author:

John Mancini has been writing about Diabetes online and offline for a long time. Visit http://diabetics-center.com or http://diabetes-central.net to read more about matters like diabetes 2 and diabetes.