La pandemia del coronavirus va a marcar un punto de inflexión en la adopción en España de la Telemedicina
Diabetes is a chronic disease with which almost 6 million people in Spain live and severe hypoglycemia is a complication associated with this disease.
The coronavirus pandemic is going to mark a turning point in the adoption of Telemedicine in Spain, which allows a more efficient use of resources and alleviates the healthcare pressure on the healthcare network.
Taking into account that people with Diabetes belong to a group at risk from the effects of Covid-19, it is imperative to stop and contain the spread of this virus, particularly in hospitals, clinics and medical centers. Mobile health, device connectivity and Telemedicine are helping to make decisions remotely, avoid unnecessary contacts and increase the efficiency of care.
Telemedicine is often thought of as simple video conference visits or phone chats between doctors and patients. When in reality we are talking about something more complex, but at the same time more natural and satisfying for all the people involved.
A digital care model must be something designed with a comprehensive vision and that allows standardized and intelligent use of data. Telemedicine is something more than the virtualization of relationships. Telemedicine implies rethinking the care process and making technology imply saving time, personalization, and guidance in decision making.
Una plataforma de salud digital orientada a la Diabetes debe contemplar.
- A single dashboard, where the healthcare professional has all the relevant patient information in a single space, regardless of the origin of that data. Device independent.
- An environment that allows the integration of the multidisciplinary team specialized in diabetes (doctors, nutritionists, diabetes educators, psychologists, physical activators) with equal access to patient data and the necessary communication between professionals
- The system should provide alerts that automate patient follow-up
- Based on these alerts or the manual review of data, the professional must be able to proactively attend to the patient or not bother those who do not need it.
- When a physical examination is not necessary, it should be possible to prescribe and update treatment remotely
- A system based on artificial intelligence must help the doctor and patient make decisions to anticipate complications.
- Doctor-patient communication must be very fluid. Chats, videos, but at the same time safe and efficient.
- All this integrated with self-management tools in the hands of patients, connected to health systems to make use of their data in real time.
En una reciente encuesta realizada por la Federación Española de Diabetes (FEDE) y referenciada en el CanalDiabetes, “hasta un 49,9% de personas con diabetes había tenido dificultades en el control de su diabetes durante la pandemia”
And finally, the new Telemedicine, in addition to facilitating remote monitoring of patients, must exercise clear control of medical data, guaranteeing the confidentiality and encryption of information, as well as having the support of regulatory and certifying entities and organizations. In 2020 we already saw how the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved the prescription of the first digital treatments, complementing conventional ones, and making it possible for health professionals to already prescribe the use of applications and systems on mobile devices by patients.
In a recent survey carried out by the Spanish Diabetes Federation (FEDE) and referenced in CanalDiabetes, “up to 49.9% of people with diabetes had had difficulties in controlling their diabetes during the pandemic”
At SocialDiabetes they have been committed for years to improving the lives of people with Diabetes, promoting the use of digital technology by health professionals in different hospitals and health centers.
An example is the Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, which has promoted a Digital transformation project for remote patient management.
“We are using SocialDiabetes to facilitate the registration and monitoring of glycemia that will allow remote assessment of control, avoiding unnecessary trips to the consultations and thereby reducing the exposure of those patients at higher risk. This technological tool will represent a very important advance for the follow-up in the Chronic-Diabetes clinic that includes patients with type 2 diabetes with greater complexity. These patients require frequent control and adjustment of the treatment facilitated by the remote visualization of the data. On the other hand, in the care of patients with type 1 diabetes, in addition to the recording and exploitation of their glycemia data, it allows the modification of the parameters of the bolus calculator, an essential element of their treatment.
Therefore, it represents a commitment by the hospital to improve the quality of care that we provide to our patients”. indicated Mª José Goñi Iriarte, Head of the Diabetes Section of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Service
In the near future, Telemedicine will be such an integrated concept in clinical practice that we will stop talking about it. Many pioneering health centers are already leading the way in this new normal.
In this context SocialDiabetes has signed an agreement with Mirihi to introduce and promote the digital solution in Hospitals and Health Centers throughout Spain, train medical teams and analyze with them how connectivity and the intelligent use of data can help them in their daily activities and in their strategic plans.
