Name: Advanced Diabetes Supply
Rating: 1.9

LAST UPDATED: August 29th, 2024

Thirty million American live with diabetes and use medical supplies to manage and treat the condition. Supplies such as glucose meters, syringes, test strips and insulin pumps are expensive and require constant ordering to maintain a supply. Advanced Diabetes Supply, a division of North Coast Medical Supply, has been providing diabetics and their caregivers with this service since 2002. It is relatively new to the industry compared to its competitors some of which have been in business for over 80 years.

Home delivery of medical supplies alleviates the need to make multiple trips to a pharmacy each month. Reliable home delivery is also critical during the COVID-19 pandemic when those with diabetes are at heightened risk and avoiding trips to a pharmacy may be recommended. It delivers a variety of supplies across the United States and is a licensed pharmacy in several states. Advanced Diabetes Supply sells a good selection of diabetes products: continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps and supplies, diabetes testing supplies, glucose meters, and braces. Other online diabetic suppliers may offer a larger selection of supplies and additional medical supplies such as medical alert bracelets, or therapeutic socks, shoes and inserts.

Accreditations can demonstrate that Advanced Diabetes Supply applies standards to its operations and practices that exceed the norm. Though it is newer to the industry, Advanced Diabetes Supply is dedicated to being the first in the nation to obtain the National DMEPOS accreditation with the National Association of the Boards of Pharmacy Advanced Diabetes Supply. As a DMEPOS-accredited supplier, it will have to consistently demonstrate that it complies with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid supplier standards. Like many of its competitors, Advanced Diabetes Supply is already accredited for Medicare Competitive Bidding.

In addition to multiple accreditations, Advanced Diabetes Supply has obtained pharmacy licensure across the country. This is critical for a company in this industry.

Advanced Diabetes Supply stands out with the numerous online resources for diabetes education it hosts on its website. Its website features a large library of online medical documents and educational pamphlets. Advanced Diabetes Supply also hosts a company blog and has many user guides and manuals for diabetes devices listed conveniently on its website.

While it does not provide a full array of medical supplies, which can be very convenient for customers, it is partnered with North Coast Medical Supply that sells a wide array of medical products.

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The Good

Patient Support Materials in Multiple Languages
New and Extra Supplies at No Cost
Trained Customer Service Representatives and CDE
Free Shipping

Patient Support Materials in Multiple Languages

Advanced Diabetes Supply provides a good selection of diabetic patient support education and other information on its website. Not all suppliers offer this service, and this demonstrates its dedication to patient support and education. Its site provides a list of user manuals and care instructions as well as diabetes health resources in multiple languages.

New and Extra Supplies at No Cost

It can be very helpful to have extra testing strips when you are learning how to use them or when you may be required to start testing more frequently. Advanced Diabetes Supply will provide customers with complimentary sample testing strips. It also provides customers with new and extra meters for no additional cost.

Trained Customer Service Representatives and CDE

Advanced Diabetes Supply requires orders to be placed over the phone with one of its trained customer service representatives. This is not something that some of its competitors require but it can be helpful. Its customer service team can answer questions you may have about your insurance coverage, guidelines, requirements, new products, how to use your new products and much more.

An additional benefit of working with Advanced Diabetes Supply is the access it provides to a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), a health professional who possesses comprehensive knowledge of and experience in diabetes prevention, prediabetes, and diabetes management. The CDE can provide seminars, cooking articles, and other education. Customers are also able to submit their own individual inquiries to the CDE via an online form.

Free Shipping

Orders are shipped via UPS Standard Ground for free. This can save customers significant money in the long-run and is an added benefit of ordering through Advanced Diabetes Supply. Many competitors do not offer free shipping.

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The Bad

No Payment Plan Option
Mixed Reviews
Fewer Product Options per Category
Call to Place Orders

No Payment Plan Option

Some online suppliers of diabetic supplies offer customers payment plans for their diabetic supplies. Managing diabetes can be very expensive and requires constant supply purchases. It can be nice to work with a supplier that can help with the cost via a payment plan.

Mixed Reviews

Customers complained of shipping delays and errors in their reviews on various sites. This can be a major concern for those who depend on their diabetes testing supplies and monitors. Diabetes treatment requires consistent preventative care and experiencing a disruption in the supply of testing supplies or medications can be very challenging and have potentially serious health consequences.

Fewer Product Options per Category

Advanced Diabetes Supply has a smaller selection of products per item category. For example, it has a smaller selection of CGMs, just five, than a competitor which has 12. It also does not carry the full selection that other online diabetes suppliers provide such as socks, shoes, inserts, glucose tabs and liquids, and more.

Call to Place Orders

Unlike other online diabetic suppliers, Advanced Diabetes Supply requires customers to call them to place an order. A customer is not even able to add items to a shopping cart; it doesn’t exist on the company's website. While this feature is likely to prevent order inaccuracies and to ensure insurance benefits coverage and eligibility for accurate billing, it is still inconvenient.

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The Bottom Line

Advanced Diabetes Supply provides diabetic customers and their caregivers with a solid selection of medical supplies to help them care for their diabetes. It does not have the largest selection of diabetic and other medical supplies in the industry, but it does have a good supply. It also offers free shipping while many other suppliers do not.

We like that Advanced Diabetes Supply seems dedicated to patient education and helping its customers live the best, healthiest life possible with diabetes. It even has a CDE on its staff that can help you with questions about diabetes management.

You may find it inconvenient that you have to call their customer service representatives to place an order. We also recommend that you contact its customer service line to verify how quickly your supplies are expected to ship due to customer complaints of delayed shipping.

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8 Reviews

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13%

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Lila Pniewski

JH Bayview Hospital, Baltimore, MD--was transferred a few times as the staff couldn't figure out whom I needed to speak with at Advanced Diabetes Supply. I am the caregiver for a patient with severe diabetes and memory care issues. Patient's Dr. ordered the Libre 2 reader and Libre 2 censors by phone for the patient before patient was discharged from hospital. Patient was sent home with the wrong censors to go with the Free Style Libre 2 reader. They sent the Libre 3 censors. Thought I could deal with this once patient got home. Wow! Couldn't believe how hard this was to exchange for the correct Libre 2 censors with Advanced Diabetes Supply. Especially when the patient is a diabetic who was just in hospital for out-of-control diabetes and required to check sugar 4-6 times a day. You would think companies such as Advanced Diabetes would be willing to work faster for a customer with out-of-control readings who must now use the old prick the finger way to check sugar levels. Also, I couldn't understand the customer service person, named Jacqueline, whom I was speaking with, and I believe she struggled to understand me. I asked if I could purchase the new censors Libre 2 today, she said no. She said that she would send me a mailing label to return the wrong censors but couldn't promise when this would be or how long it would take to get the correct censors once she received the wrong censors. You're looking at a 4-6 week process. I was NOT impressed with the company's representation to the customer. Will be shopping around for a different provider for these censors. It really concerns me that elderly people must deal with companies who clearly do NOT put them first as customers here at Advanced Diabetes Supply. SAD.

3 months ago

Mike D Birmingham, AL

My wife was happily using her freestyle libre 14 day system and called one day to get her supplies only to be told she would have to pay a huge co-pay as she was told her insurance would not pay for the whole cost. This was in june 2023. She has been without a method of checking her sugar for this long (it is now August 22nd) And she is now in the hospital as we speak recovering from Keto acidosis due to the fact that we couldn't afford to pay out for another system, and insurance wouldn't cover it as there is a 5 year limitation on medicare. Next year ends that limitation. Fast forward to today, I called back to see (on a hunch) that maybe there was an error in judgement by the rep. THERE WAS. All of this stemmed from carelessness. My wife almost died as a result. Not to mention the rep back in june was absurdly rude. The ONLY reason for the 2nd star, was for the kind and courteous actions of the rep I spoke to today that saw that it had been corrected after the fact. There will be a complimentary sensor sent out, and we can call back when my wife gets out of the hospital to resume her ordering of the sensors. I am contemplating filing negligence charges in this matter as well. This situation is the epitome of negligence.

1 year ago

Becjo Bakersfield, CA

Although I appreciate their service being mail order, they aren't really good at timing. They send a 90-day supply of my Dexcom supplies every 92 days. I have gone without sensors for two and three days while I wait for theirs to arrive. This time, I received 8 sensors (thought it was 7 when I spoke to them) and I have none until they get a shipment here. They forget that not all months have 30 days. I have pointed this out to them repeatedly and they don't listen. 90 days from June 9 is September 7. They sent out the new supplies on September 9.

Ed Young Albuquerque, NM

I was enrolled in their Libre 2 after I had a kidney transplant which increased my need for insulin. First order took 2 1/2 months to receive with no explanation from ADS. I finally contacted my doctor's office and they were able to get an answer stating that they were backlogged through the holidays and were working on it. I didn't know diabetic supplies were a common Christmas gift. Ultimately, I received a 104 day supply in February. When those ran out, I contacted them again and was told they could only send a 90 day supply every 93 days and that's why the sent an extra sensor in February, claiming that they do this twice a year to allow for longer months and the 93 day waiting period. However, I had a bad sensor in the last shipment (consistently read 20-30 points lower than a fingerstick) so I had to dispose of it and use another. This led me to run out a few weeks prior to receiving another order. They also told me that I needed to call the mfg who would supply me with a replacement. When I called the mfg, they chastised me for disposing of the bad sensor and advised I should have returned it to them. I replied that I had never been told what to do with a bad sensor until now. After jumping through multiple hoops, I did receive a new sensor a few days later. However, that sensor ran out this morning and I still have not received my next shipment. Good thing I have saved my old One Touch 2 manual fingerstick glucometer and strips. Also, ADS does not supply the test strips for their reader without a separate prescription. How much sense does this make? Their product, just like all products, are NOT perfect and it seems there is no allowance for that with this system. If they would ship enough sensors to make the 93 day window, this would be a good program. If they would actually employ a adequate customer service team that could handle these issues, it would be a Great system! As it is now, it's not something that can be trusted to be there when you need it.

Lisa Lynch Long Beach, CA

Their customer service was once the best but over the last two years it has spiraled downward. The hold times are ridiculous and their billing department is overloaded. I called to get a copy of invoices because I need these for my FSA account. Was told the hold time was 2 HOURS!!! The rep gave me an email address to send my request and received a message saying the Deliver is Delayed. So frustrating! Then two weeks ago I reordered my 3 month supply of G6 sensors. These were sent but they also sent me two transmitters. I have never ordered my transmitters from ADS because I get a better price at Costco. Called to return them and was told I would have to go the UPS and pay for my own box. They did send me a return label but it was an inconvenience that I should not have had to deal with. They are always late in charging my credit card for the sensors so last year I received a bill at year end for over $1,000! I've had it with this company and am taking my sensor orders to Costco. I should have done this long ago.

Alan Sandul Port Washington, NY

The worst company I have ever dealt with as their customer service is the worst I've ever experienced in my 71 years and 45 years of being a type 1 diabetic. If you call them you will be on hold for 30-60 minutes and I have never experienced a rep that had English as their first language. The delay in voice and bad connection suggests I was talking to some foreign rep. If you decide to leave a message no one will ever return your call. Tried to change from Dexcom 6 to Dexcom 7 two months ago and no satisfaction so I cancelled these idiots. Only time I got a timely response was when I didn't confirm their recording for new shipment of Dexcom 6 and told the rep they sucked but I'm sure she didn't understand English enough to understand. Sorry for being so forward but I can't understand how a company that can use the system for their financial gains and hide their total lack of customer care.

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Gina Donofrio

Advanced Diabetes Supplies has been a great asset to my Diabetic life. It's easy to order and reorder. Supplies are quickly sent, and reordering is easy.

2 years ago

Mattie Arlington, TN

Advanced Diabetes Supply told me they were shipping my Dexcom order last Wednesday. It should take 3-5 working days. After 5 days, no shipment and no e-mail. When I called to ask about my order, a young lady explained that there had been a glitch in the system. My order had been cancelled. I would have to reorder but they would ship overnight for free. That probably means two days, depending on UPS without a sensor. If I hadn’t called ADS, I’d never have known my order was cancelled. Terrible service. Plus they informed me last week that Medicare only allows them to ship ever 93 days.