Conclusions
Internet based technology has huge potential to transform diabetes care. Most diabetes patients have access to the internet and most are computer literate. Technology can improve care, particularly for those currently disadvantaged by current service delivery (see Figure 4- case study) including hard to reach populations such as the geographically remote, young adolescents, busy professionals, patients with physical disabilities, patients with social phobias and those with a record of poor engagement with traditional clinics.
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Figure 4.
- Case Study: This is an anonymised real case highlighting a population group who do not engage with mainstream care, but who may benefit from a technology based approach to care.
Patients, social enterprises and commercial companies, rather than the health care professionals are the current drivers of the digital revolution, realising opportunities through development of apps, programs, gadgets and software to aid care management. One of the biggest challenges is focusing and linking this plethora of technology and online activity with mainstream healthcare so that patient really benefits. Many technology tools and systems currently operate in silos; for example patients use glucose monitors and diabetes apps to manage their diabetes at home but this information is never fully shared with their health care providers thus missing an opportunity for inaction and intervention. Technology that allow individuals to contribute information to their care record between appointments, leading to a much more complete picture of their current health may go some way to achieving this.
Technology development in healthcare has been hampered by concerns around security, and lack of expertise. Digital health will however play an increasingly important role in diabetes care over the coming decades, and mainstream health providers need to find innovative ways to overcome these barriers and work with commercial and non-governmental partners to achieve the best care for their patients.