New Software Experiment Seeks To Improve Care For 25 Diabetics

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Twenty-five diabetic patients will be given computers that connect them to health care providers to maintain an ongoing dialogue about their condition, and allow doctors to monitor their status, in a new patient-care experiment by Microsoft and the University of Miami, the Miami Herald reports. The patients can send blood-sugar levels and other data in real time, while physicians can "nudge" patient's who veer from appropriate care "with an e-mail."

"Under the pilot program, 'we're testing the concept that, what will happen if all the patients are able to interact with doctors and nurses through a portal,' a [Miami medical professor] said. 'Will that lead to more prevention? More wellness? . . . It's a very interactive process,''' the Herald reports. Experts say the program - which could improve efficiencies by reducing the number of expensive hospital visits by the chronically ill - reflects Washington's focus on reducing unnecessary costs as part of health reform (Dorschner, 6/11).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

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