Dear Tandem,
I got my tslim insulin pump in August 2013. I have loved my pump and loved your customer service up to this point. I have been reading about your ongoing stance on what you will do to upgrade your current customers to newer software and/of the tslim/dexcom combo. I have read the latest article where you kind of sort of eluded to the fact that you will be upgrading people to the new software after you get a program FDA approved but still not really stating what you will do for the Dexcom integration.
I decided to go with your company because I had the Dexcom and I am not 100% sure but I am fairly certain that you had an agreement with Dexcom then. I was also told there would be some sort of upgrade program like every other pump company in the USA offers. I just a few minutes ago commented on the Diabetes Mine article and I wanted to post it on my blog also because this is really really really bad customer service and if you decide to not offer some sort of upgrade program I might think about switching to another pump that is working with Dexcom when my warranty is up in 2 years.
Diabetes Mine article that EVERY Tandem Diabetes Care pump user should read: http://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/tandem-diabetes-envisions-different-type-future-tech-upgrade#4
My comment:
Tandem really needs to re-evaluate their stance on this topic. Many of
us pumpers switched to Tandem because they did assure us that there
would be an upgrade system. I have been on a Dexcom for 3 years in
December and on tslim for 2 years in August. Insulin pumps are extremely
expensive and put a huge financial burden on many people to even
purchase one let alone buy the supplies. Tandem has got to offer some
sort of way to upgrade either the software or let us send our pumps in
to pay to have whatever hardware they need to get the dexcom/tslim combo
set up. If they decide to be the only pump company in existence that
does not offer an upgrade system I am afraid they will lose a ton of
potential new business and lose current users. That is just not the way
to keep your customers happy after they spent $6000-$8000 on a piece of
medical equipment. Keeping in mind we are forced to pay this EVERY
four years if we want to have this thing that controls our Diabetes
under warranty. Come on Tandem, don't do this to us after we invested
so much money into our Diabetes care with your company. We are/were all
counting on you.
#DontFailUsNowTandemDiabetes @tandemdiabetes
Sounds like they had high hope for offering an upgrade program, but the FDA stepped in and killed this program. I had a good discussion with my Diabetic Nurse at my doctors office about some of the features of MiniMed's new 640g that is available just about everywhere but the USA, and she said the FDA will in all likely water down the pump and make them remove a lot of the features, like automatically adjusting your basel for exercise at a set time so you don't have to remember to lower it.
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