Time-in-Range (TIR): Why It Matters and How CGM Can Help
Diabetes care is evolving beyond A1C alone. Time-in-Range (TIR), the percentage of time a person’s blood glucose stays within a healthy range, is becoming a powerful new metric for tracking daily health outcomes. With Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM), patients and providers now have 24/7 access to this critical data—helping them make proactive, informed decisions that improve long-term outcomes.
“Time-in-range is a meaningful, actionable metric for people with diabetes. CGM is the best tool we have to measure and improve it in real time.”
What Is Time-in-Range (TIR)?
TIR is the percentage of time a person’s glucose levels remain within a target range, usually 70–180 mg/dL for many adults (American Diabetes Association). While A1C provides a long-term average, TIR shows real-life daily control. Even if two people have the same A1C, one can have more frequent dangerous highs or lows. CGM helps uncover these fluctuations and make TIR actionable, giving a clearer picture of glucose control (Dexcom; ADA).
How CGM Helps Improve TIR
- Real-Time Tracking: CGM provides continuous glucose readings every few minutes, making it easier to identify spikes and lows as they happen.
- Actionable Alerts: Predictive alerts warn patients before dangerous swings occur, improving safety and confidence.
- Detailed Trends: CGM apps display easy-to-read graphs and reports, showing patterns over hours, days, and weeks.
- Collaborative Care: Providers can remotely monitor TIR, making adjustments to insulin or medications quickly.
Evidence Behind TIR and CGM
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends using TIR as a key marker in diabetes care. Research shows every 10% increase in TIR is linked to a reduction in risk of diabetic complications, including retinopathy and cardiovascular events (ADA Newsroom).
CGM technology is the gold standard for tracking and improving TIR. By providing real-time, actionable data, CGM helps patients and providers set goals and measure progress—something fingersticks alone can’t achieve.
“TIR empowers both patients and clinicians to personalize diabetes care plans based on data, not guesswork.”
Conclusion
Time-in-Range is one of the most important metrics for better diabetes care—and CGM makes it easier than ever to achieve. By delivering continuous data and real-time alerts, CGM empowers patients to take control of their health and providers to deliver more targeted care.
DDP Medical Supply offers leading CGM systems like Abbott FreeStyle Libre and Dexcom G7, plus support to help DME providers grow their CGM programs and improve patient outcomes.
