Many maintenance treatments are simple; you just take a pill once or twice a day. For patients with Type 2 diabetes, it’s not so easy. Diet, exercise, and even the time of day affect how much insulin a patient needs to inject throughout the day. A drop of blood from a finger stick is used to measure blood glucose levels, and the dosage is adjusted accordingly. A major insurer is undertaking a trial of a new system that uses the cloud to help provide the correct insulin dosage.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has announced a trial of the d-Nav system from Hygeia. This system measures blood sugar levels, and then uses cloud-based algorithms to adjust the specific dosage for individual patients. The system includes healthcare professionals who provide support to patients in person and by phone. The trial will include 1,000 subjects, and has been funded for a full year. In that time, the companies hope to demonstrate significant cost savings. According to Hygeia, the insurance company could realize more than $100 million per year in savings if the system is implemented across all their subscribers with Type 2 diabetes. An independent health-economics research company will monitor the trial, comparing the quality of care, health outcomes, and cost differentials.
The d-Nav system has not yet earned FDA clearance, but it has CE approval in the European Union. A one-year trial by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) showed “a substantial reduction in diabetes care costs within 12 months.” The healthcare system that ran the trial has since become the first to adopt d-Nav as the standard of care for Type 2 diabetes patients.
