Mobile tech seen as key tool in diabetes management

A literature review and an issue brief published by the Washington-based eHealth Initiative concludes that diabetes patients' use of smartphones and other technologies is associated with improvements in measures of diabetes management.

The 37-page report, based on a review of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, according to its authors, covers not only mobile health but also telemedicine, patient Web portals and social-media sites.

Care providers that serve socially disadvantaged populations typically face an array of hurdles in caring for their diabetic patient populations, including limited funding, lack of patient transportation, low knowledge levels about the disease and, often, language and cultural barriers.

Mobile communications devices and mobile healthcare applications designed for the management of chronic diseases "have been one of the most significant health IT developments of the past five years," the report authors conclude. The brief cites several studies in which the use of mobile applications has been seen to result in measured improvements in knowledge levels as well as blood-glucose levels. It also mentions diabetes-specific social-media sites, which "have been shown to decrease the prevalence of adverse symptoms associated with diabetes, improve health behaviors and reduce utilization of healthcare resources."