The long-term benefit of tight glycemic control in diabetics is well documented. HbA1c generally assesses the average/long term quality of glycemic control. On a daily basis, patients assess their glycemic control through finger stick measurements (SMBG), which allows them to adjust their therapy. A device which would provide a patient with a real-time glucose value, as well as high and low alerts, could aid the patient in knowing when to perform confirmatory SMBG tests and intervene so that dangerous glycemic excursions may occur less frequently.