Last month, Sensei, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based mobile technology
developer and subsidiary of
target="_blank">Humana, launched My Diabetes Guide, a 99-cent downloadable application
for the iPhone and iPod touch that takes patients step-by-step
through the keys to healthy living with diabetes.
The release is timely, as news reports note people with diabetes
are increasingly cutting back on physician visits, treatment and
testing during the recession.
Designed in collaboration with the Joslin Diabetes
Center, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, My Diabetes
Guide uses daily and weekly reminders for self-management
tasks.
“To Do” list prompts include when to monitor glucose
levels, take medications and check feet and weight so patients
develop a consistently positive behavior pattern. Patients also can
log their data into the program to ensure timely recording of vital
statistics.
In addition, the new app prepares patients for doctors' visits
with a checklist of items to bring, questions to ask and what to
expect at a checkup. A “To Know” screen teaches users
to communicate effectively with physicians to develop a productive
working relationship. A “To Eat” screen helps diabetics
make smart nutrition decisions and healthier meal choices.
According to Robert Schwarzberg, Sensei president and CEO, the
program “is a comprehensive tool that takes patients, and
those involved in their care, one screen at a time through all
fundamentals of diabetes management.”
At a demonstration in March, Johnson & Johnson's LifeScan
showed a prototype system for diabetes management on the iPhone. By
interfacing a glucose meter with the mobile phone, a patient can
keep track of glucose levels and look at historical patterns. Among
its features, LifeScan's application can calculate sugar intake
during meals and help patients to adjust their diet more
precisely.
The product is not ready for commercial launch, according to the
company, but the demonstration does show the possibilities.
With 24 million diabetics and 57 million pre-diabetics in the
United States, mobile applications empower people “to play an
active role in their own treatment, thus increasing the likelihood
that they can delay or avoid long-term complications — such
as cardiovascular disease — linked to diabetes,” says
Jonathan Lord, M.D., Humana's chief innovation officer.
“With the proliferation of mobile phones in America, we
believe this is an important avenue to reach people with
diabetes.”
Sensei's My Diabetes Guide joins another 30 diabetes-related
iPhone applications, which also boast other health-related programs
including a calorie tracker, a pedometer and even Wake!Gently, an
alarm and bedside clock that wakes users as they are supposed to
be, its makers say: “slowly and gently as nature
intended.”
