Telemedicine helps participants track health behaviors

On the horizon of diabetes offerings at retail is telemedicine — a concept that may come sooner than later thanks to the rapid adoption of smartphones by consumers. In March 2012, researchers from the Stanford Prevention Research Center reported that smartphone applications can raise awareness and motivate older adults to improve their health. After eight weeks, 80% of participants reported increased awareness regarding a targeted health behavior (increased walking, decreased sitting time, improved diet), and three-quarters said the apps helped track the behavior. Two-thirds indicated the apps increased their motivation to 
make improvements.


True telemedicine functionality — in which a patient’s condition is monitored remotely by a healthcare practitioner, such as a pharmacist or retail clinician, in real time — is still many years away, but Nipro Diagnostics took a significant step in that direction in August. Nipro and NextGen Healthcare Information Systems partnered on a connectivity agreement that gives users of the NextGen Ambulatory EHR instant access to data points captured by patients at home who are using the Nipro TRUEresult blood-glucose monitoring system. 


“Home monitoring will become even more important as healthcare providers move toward patient-centered medical home and accountable care organization models,” stated Scott Decker, president of NextGen Healthcare. “Seamlessly integrating data directly from a patient’s meter into NextGen Healthcare’s Ambulatory EHR provides physicians with the necessary tools to better manage the health of 
their patients.

”
Right now it’s more push than pull, however, as caregivers only access the data during a consult as opposed to remote 
patient monitoring.

The article above is part of the DSN Category Review Series. For the complete Diabetes Buy-In Report, including extensive charts, data and more analysis, click here.