Project will test mobile health for diabetes control

A pilot project in Texas involving HHS' Office of Minority Health will test the effectiveness of using mobile health tools to help patients manage diabetes and related chronic conditions.

The Office of Minority Health, the American Association of Diabetes Educators and AT&T are partnering on the project, which will provide diabetic Medicare beneficiaries in Dallas with behavior-modification and diabetes-management training on mobile devices.

"The Office of Minority Health is excited to collaborate on a consumer-focused health information technology initiative that will have the opportunity to significantly improve access to education on diabetes, which is such a critical health issue for minority communities," Dr. Garth Graham, HHS deputy assistant secretary for minority health, said in an AT&T news release.

For the training to be eligible for Medicare reimbursement, patients who have diabetes or who have been diagnosed as being at risk for the disease must receive a prescription to participate in the program. Diabetes educators will use video on mobile devices to talk with beneficiaries enrolled in the program, said a spokesperson for the American Association of Diabetes Educators.

A report published this year in Perspectives in Health Information Management, a publication of the American Health Information Management Association, found most people with diabetes have "little or no self-management training or provider interaction between visits," and that African-Americans who have diabetes are "likely to be medically underserved, without access to constant provider monitoring."