in favour of international units
The Yanks don't even use metric measures for general life, unlike their northerly neighbours. And, while the rest of the world uses paracetamol, they insist on acetaminophen; adrenaline / epinephrine; even worse is that they call oestrogen estrogen, which means the words are nowhere near each other in a dictionary. As a result, I've found it easier to communicate with medics in French or Spanish, which I do speak, or Indonesian, Hebrew or Arabic, which I don't (beyond a few words), but most medical terms are Latin or Greek based, so we managed OK! I find that I usually quote distances in the UK in miles, because that's what's on road & footpath signs, but will convert for my own running or cycling or for anyone who coems from a metric country, and it's easier to measure distances from OS maps in metric, as each grid square has 1km sides. I find kg body weights easier than pounds in USA, although stones are OK for estimates, same as grams are easiest for baking, but ounces OK for rougher estimates in cooking.
The units may seem similar, but they measure completely different things, so the important thing is to write out untis in full and state the thing being measured. There shouldn't be too much confusion for people with diabetes - home blood glucose meters don't measure HbA1c. If the unification of units used for HbA1c facilitates comparison of results from different laboratories and eases research trails across international boundaries, then that must be worth the period of uncertainty - planned transition must be the best way.
However, it is worth carrying a conversion chart (mmol/l v mg % or mg / 100ml or mg / dl (100ml = 1dl, so that's not too confusing) when travelling overseas. I printed out a 2 sided scrap of paper, about 4cm by 6cm, then covered in clear sticky backed plastic. I've only needed it once, to aid communication between a Royal Navy doctor and a Chilean man with Type 2 diabetes and a fractured hip.
