#mHealth : Longitudinal Health for Diabetes Care (in Hawaii)

Today is the last day of the 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference. As a physician champion for the HCPLive Network, I'm excited to blog about some of the highlights from this meeting. You can also follow updates about the mHealth Networking Conference on HCPLive.com.

Joseph Humphry, MD, Health Center Medical Liaison, University of Hawaii. Dr. Humphry spoke about some longitudinal studies evaluating the effect of mHealth in diabetes care in Hawaii. Longitudinal health is a care delivery system that allows continuous interaction between the care team and the patient using mHealth technology. It focuses on the use of social support networks for patients and their families.

They are currently in the process of completing a feasibility study (Ohana Health 2009) in Hawaii with 15 patients with diabetes. They are using a comprehensive disease management program (CDMP) and uploading glucose values. 5 patients are using Bluetooth enabled smartphones to upload their glucose values.

Here's what they found:

• Patients with limited exposure to technology are able to use remote monitoring
• Patients respond positively to graphs and charts of their glucose values
• Some patients were experiencing "upload fatigue"

The next phase of the Ohana Health project will involve the entire health care team and they plan to focus on mobile remote monitoring in minority patients who have type 2 diabetes. They hope to evaluate pattern recognition to individualize diabetes care for their patients as they apply algorithms and tailored messages.

I want to thank Epocrates for sponsoring these blog posts from the 2nd International mHealth Networking Conference. Epocrates, Inc. develops clinical information and decision support tools that enable healthcare professionals to find answers more quickly and confidently at the point of care.