Category: Digital health technology, systems and processes

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Diabetes and the digital divide: A patient’s perspective.

Technology is rapidly changing the world of some type 1 diabetics. The creation of Freestyle Libre (a small white patch which provides a continuous indication of blood sugar levels) has revolutionised diabetes care.

The most widely used indicator of blood sugar control is hba1c.  Hba1c is very useful but is also quite crude. It gives an average of the previous three months but does not show you how this average was achieved.

I’ve usually been a well-controlled diabetic but in 2018 personal circumstances changed, and my sugar levels began to spiral out of control, swinging from highs of 15 and above and crashing into hypos. My hba1c reading was a low reading of 6 percent. After losing consciousness, I was desperate to access more support. Accessing this was difficult. Because of a history of good hba1c readings, I was told not to worry. I tried to obtain a faster acting insulin (Fiasp) but could not provide the evidence needed to obtain it. Continue reading “Diabetes and the digital divide: A patient’s perspective.”

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Online access to medical records: Patients and clinicians voice some of their concerns.

We shop, bank, socialise and work via the internet. Online healthcare seems a natural progression in our heavily technology dominated lifestyles. There could be many benefits to being able to engage with our healthcare via the internet and it may help to create more flexibility and convenience in our increasingly hectic schedules.

But some people have genuine concerns about this sort of technology being implemented. Perhaps we should all have some concerns, as there may be points in our lives when circumstances change, we become older, and the implications for online healthcare could become greater. Continue reading “Online access to medical records: Patients and clinicians voice some of their concerns.”

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Safer systems in the home: How a plug and a box changed my life

I am a well-controlled type 1 diabetic, but there are certain situations where even well-controlled diabetics can find themselves in tricky situations. One of these is during pregnancy and the period afterwards. Changing insulin requirements and pressures to keep low blood sugars during pregnancy and breastfeeding can dramatically increase the risk of hypoglycaemia. Continue reading “Safer systems in the home: How a plug and a box changed my life”

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ELECTRONIC PERSONAL HEALTH RECORDS. There are many benefits but what about the risks?

Many of us are already using online healthcare facilities. ‘Patient Access’ has been available for some time. I use it myself for convenient repeat prescriptions. The area of digital health technology is growing at a phenomenal rate as it is being incorporated into apps and internet access. Government policy intends that ‘electronic personal health records’ will eventually be accessible to every adult in the UK via the internet and are supporting an NHS app to help create this future vision. This means that patient investigation results, prescriptions, health files and appointment booking facilities will be available for the general population to access from their personal computers and smartphones. Continue reading “ELECTRONIC PERSONAL HEALTH RECORDS. There are many benefits but what about the risks?”