Apps, tech differentiate new meters
More and more, meter manufacturers today are differentiating their offerings not by the traditional micrometers of blood necessary for a viable glucose reading or the value inherent in the cost of test strips, but in the accompanying adherence app or other technologies that will help diabetes patients better navigate their disease states.
(To view the full Diabetes Report, click here.)
For example, Abbott in September gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its FreeStyle Libre Pro system, a revolutionary continuous glucose monitoring system for healthcare professionals to use with their patients with diabetes. Today that system is applied to patients by healthcare professionals in a clinic setting, where a clinician applies a small, round disposable sensor on the back of the patient’s upper arm that remains in place for up to two weeks, requiring no patient interaction or calibration. The sensor continuously measures glucose in interstitial fluid through a small filament that is inserted just under the skin and records glucose levels every 15 minutes, capturing up to 1,340 glucose results.
After 14 days, the patient returns to the doctor’s office, where the doctor uses a FreeStyle Libre Pro reader to scan the sensor and download the 14-days’ worth of glucose results that are stored in the sensor — in as little as five seconds. “FreeStyle Libre Pro transforms how doctors assess their patients’ diabetes,” said Jared Watkin, SVP diabetes care at Abbott. “This novel technology provides a solution to the ongoing challenge of the need for complete and dependable glucose data. This data is imperative for not only the doctor, but also for the patient to help them achieve optimal health.”
And Abbott’s consumer version of the FreeStyle Libre system is under consideration at the FDA. That system also is designed to be a continuous glucose monitoring system that patients can self-monitor by scanning a reader over the sensor as often as desired.
Johnson & Johnson’s LifeScan this year created a strategic collaboration with WellDoc to integrate LifeScan’s OneTouch Verio Flex blood-glucose monitoring system with WellDoc’s BlueStar diabetes management platform and mobile application. WellDoc’s diabetes management platform is the first mobile pr he FDA for Type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, Roche Diabetes Care integrated its Accu-Chek Connect System with the Apple Health app on iPhone. This integration allows patients using the Accu-Chek Connect app to share data with HealthKit and easily view their blood-glucose levels and carbohydrates in the Apple Health app alongside other activity and health information.
These kinds of integrations are the next step in helping those with diabetes adopt a holistic approach in managing their overall care where they can log, view and share their diabetes data with other health tracking applications, or share that information with caregivers or practitioners. “It also provides healthcare teams with a better view of the patient’s lifestyle as they assess the role of health and fitness in their management routine,” noted Marc Gibeley, head of Roche Diabetes Care North America.
Omnis Health this year introduced its Embrace Better Care Program, a program that helps retail partners create more proactive connections with their customers. “The Embrace Better Care Program is … a continuum of care [program] specifically designed to help our pharmacy partners create a closer connection with their customers with diabetes,” noted Cathy Pereira, Omnis Health EVP global sales and marketing. “By providing proactive access to diabetes educational resources, money-saving coupons [and] testing reminders … at the click of a mouse or in the palm of their hand, Embrace Better Care creates an effective way to tether customers to the pharmacies where they purchased their Embrace brand products.”