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It seldom happens, but wouldn't it be nice if all of our diabetic patients brought us usable blood glucose logs?
Patients may forget to bring their logs to the office visit, or they forget to keep one altogether. Even when they do bring their glucometers in, it takes a long time to go through each reading in order to reach a meaningful conclusion.
Most clinics do have the ability to download glucose values from the meter. But there are several barriers to making that data useful.
First, patients use meters from different companies. You have to have the proprietary software for each meter and the corresponding cable. Then you have to keep all the software up to date to get the latest meter and the features.
If you are in a big healthcare system, you have to get the IT department's approval to install and upgrade each software.
Even if we got everything up and running, different software gives reports in different formats. This makes it hard to make a quick decision by glancing at the report.
The same problems apply to insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs).
Luckily, there are a few solutions out there.
A little-known secret is that if you have in your office, you can download all the supported meters. You just have to install the corresponding drivers and have the connection cables.
The company also specializes in this field. When you sign up for their service, they will send you a device that can download data from most of the meters and pumps.
From there, the downloaded data are stored in the cloud and with proper authentication, any provider can view it from their computer or mobile device.
Data from personal tracking devices like Fitbit, Jawbone, and Nike can also be downloaded to the Diasend device.
Patients can even create a free account and upload the meter readings from the convenience of their home.
The cost: clinics get a one-month free trial. Then, the meter-only package costs $1,200 annually. If you want to download meters and pumps it will cost $2,280 per year.
Glooko is another platform for both patients and doctors. Meter data can be uploaded to compatible mobile devices at home or in the office, and the report can be emailed to the physician or accessed from the cloud.
, which is FDA approved, also has a handy tool to log carbs, insulin, and exercise. Having all of this information in one place makes managing diabetes a breeze.
And its Population Tracker tool can identify patients at risk for developing hypoglycemia and severe hyperglycemia -- all for a total cost of $15 per patient per month.
spearheaded by Howard Look, whose daughter has type 1 diabetes. Blip is the software built on top of the Tidepool platform that allows people to upload their data from meters, pumps, CGMs, and activity trackers. They are also creating an app called Nutshell, which will help patients to make better bolus decisions.
Its also tracks blood glucose response to food and the amount of insulin taken, so the next time the patient has a similar meal, they can look back and see how their body responded to x-amount of insulin and make a better decision.
Another product in their pipeline is a decision-support tool called Sonar that helps to find the right correction factor, basal rate, and so forth. The ultimate goal is to use these algorithms to create a better artificial pancreas.
Finally, the Oregon-based company SweetSpot, which was , has identical capabilities as the above-mentioned software. It is FDA approved and can generate custom reports with actionable information. The report also has an insight section which gives analysis of the patient's diabetes control in plain English. They charge $2,500 licensing fee, per year, per computer.
The future is exciting. We do not have to wait for the glucose log in paper! It will be delivered digitally to our computers and smartphones.
Endo Apps is a blog about the latest digital technologies in diabetes and endocrinology. , is an endocrinologist at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Mo.
Disclosures
Thomas developed the . He disclosed no financial relationships with industry.