‘Wearable trackers have particular resonance for diabetics’

The average person with diabetes will only see a healthcare professional for three hours a year – the other 8,757 hours they have to manage their own health, says Simon O’Neill, Director of Health Intelligence and Professional Liaison at Diabetes UK, in BJ-HC’s vox pop this month.

Some of that requires specific condition management, but much of it is ensuring the body can work properly – maintaining a healthy weight, eating well and exercising, says O’Neill, in the article, which talks about the technologies that are helping revolutionise chronic care. “That means that many wearable fitness trackers and apps aimed at the general market have particular resonance for diabetics,” he says.

Diabetes clinics have also started making good use of Skype and phone consultations, says O’Neill. “These have specific benefits with the diabetes community,” he says. “For example, people from Black and South Asian communities are two to four times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, a group which includes some people who don’t speak good English. At Newham University Hospital, remote consultations have made it easier to include a son or a daughter for 10 minutes of translation, rather than trying to bring both the patient and translator into a hospital for a lengthy wait and appointment. Do Not Attend rates have dropped, and patients are much more engaged – vital to ensure that self-management happens after the appointment.” For the full article click here 

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