Canada has raised concerns over a number of years about their rising rates of diabetes. Many Canadians are considered obese or overweight, and the number of people living with the condition has reached epidemic levels. Diabetes has proved to be taxing on Canada’s public healthcare system, and now, the government is seeking a solution.
Effectively treating an entire country is bound to be a gradual process, and will require a widespread shift in Canadian society. Reducing diabetes rates, even by a small percentage, would have an astronomical effect on Canadian healthcare expenditures, but this will be a long process, especially considering that the best prevention for the disease is a healthy lifestyle.
That’s a tall order when Canadians are living increasingly sedentary lifestyles, but some companies, such as LMC Diabetes and Endocrinology, are trying to find ways to push the country in the right direction.
One of the big issues with treating diabetes is the constant maintenance that it requires. Most of the costs associated with diabetes arise from complications with the disease, necessitating a plan to react quickly to any new developments.
But, of course, you can’t just have a doctor on call; change starts with educating patients about the disease they are living with and how to ensure that they remain stable. This is why LMC is creating a digital IT platform for patients living with diabetes. The platform, intended to serve all 30,000 of LMC’s patients, promotes self-management, schedules fitness, and improved diets.
LMC CEO Mark Angelo stated that the platform will also reduce operational costs by making the monitoring and administration of care far more efficient. In addition to the benefits that it confers for patients, the platform provides an easy-to-understand dashboard for medical professionals to track patients with a glance. Angelo cited issues with coordinating therapy and long stints between office visits as the impetus for the creation of this program.
It also gives patients an easy line to the doctor’s office if something goes wrong. The program is capable of drawing data from wearable devices and Bluetooth-enabled glucose monitors, and yes, LMC is planning on using the data to continue to improve their platforms.
And as far as coordination goes, LMC is giving access to other doctors that may be working with their patients to more effectively manage care across practices. It’s a triage platform; patients are sorted into categories based on the type and severity of their condition so that doctors can focus on higher-risk patients.
It’s fascinating to see what a difference connectivity makes. This is the rare sort of push that benefits all parties involved, and it makes me wonder if other diseases could be treated differently. Yes, it’s a form of patient portal, and both of my readers are likely well aware that I’ve talked about this subject a lot. The difference here is that it integrates with existing diabetes treatments to give patients the independence they need to live properly.
And, with the platform offering weekly activity options, it’s one part health monitoring app and one part fitness app. Maybe it won’t motivate all of Canada to get up and be active, but in the midst of what can only be called a nationwide crisis, LMC is offering a solution that both educates and motivates diabetes patients.