More technology in diabetes care

According to recent reports, the trade association Intellect was disappointed by a Department of Health policy statement outlining the role of telehealth and telecare in diabetes treatment .
As part of the five-yearly update on the National Service Framework for Diabetes Care, the DOH skimmed over emerging technology in diabetes care . The report indicated that over the last five years 600,000 people have been identified with diabetes, at the rate of around 2,000 per week.
Intellect, who are the trade association for the UK technology sector, claim that more attention should be given to remote healthcare solutions to improve outcomes for patients and clinicians.
The chair of the Telehealth group, Adrian Flowerday, was reported as commenting: “First, for patients with Type 1 diabetes, telehealth can help clinicians to better understand a patient’s insulin usage and enable appropriate medication titration. Second, post diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, two to three months of telehealth can help to educate patients about their condition and any lifestyle changes they may need to make. It can also help to monitor potential periods of depression, and can help clinicians to keep their patients’ blood glucose levels under control. And third, for all diabetes patients, telehealth can serve as a long term reminder system for patients to monitor their blood sugar .”