Below are the steps to have the Insulin Pump Therapy Program (IPTP) cover the costs of your or your child’s insulin pump and supplies. The steps may not happen in the exact order shown here. Talk to your diabetes team if you have questions about the IPTP.

If you don’t want to apply for the IPTP (for example, you have your own insurance coverage or you have type 2 diabetes), you can look into insulin pump therapy with your usual diabetes care team. If you don’t have a diabetes team, ask your family doctor to help you get one.

Applying for the IPTP

1. Learn about pump therapy to help you decide—along with your healthcare team—if pump therapy is right for you. This involves:
   • Reading Alberta Health Services’ information about diabetes insulin pump therapy
   • Taking this online learning module or going to a class at an approved diabetes insulin pump clinic
   • Filling out the Introduction to Insulin Pump Therapy Questionnaire at the end of this module and bring it to your approved diabetes team.
     
2. Get an assessment at an approved diabetes clinic by an approved diabetes doctor or nurse practitioner. This means they’ll give you a health checkup and talk to you about how you’re managing your diabetes. If you don’t already have an approved diabetes doctor or nurse practitioner, ask your healthcare provider to refer you. There may be a waiting list.
3. Meet all the IPTP criteria by working with your approved diabetes team. This could take months. It depends on how much your knowledge of diabetes, your self-management habits, your A1c values, and program waiting lists.
4. Get signed approval from both an approved diabetes educator and an approved diabetes doctor or nurse practitioner.
5. Buy an insulin pump after you get Blue Cross approval. You may need to wait to buy your pump until you get a pump start appointment at your approved diabetes clinic.
6. Start on insulin pump therapy at the approved diabetes clinic.
7. Work closely with your diabetes team to learn new information, practise old and new skills, and program the insulin pump. This can take many months.
8. Follow up every year with your approved diabetes clinic and meet all the criteria to continue your coverage.​