It is agreed that all patients with insulin-treated diabetes should regularly self-monitor their blood glucose to guide insulin doses and detect and avoid hypoglycaemia, but there remains little consensus as to the value of SBGM in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with diet and/or tablets. This Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh mini-symposium brought together a panel of experts to examine the current evidence surrounding SBGM in this context. The aim of this document is to provide an overview of the points raised and where consensus was achieved. The document summarises the general situations where SBGM may or may not be useful, and it is hoped that this will be a platform for production of specific guidelines for healthcare professionals to use to advise a monitoring programme for an individual patient. These recommendations include results of evidence published since November 2004.
