The Hospital Authority of Hong Kong is a statutory body that manages all the public medical care institutions in Hong Kong. There are currently around 400,000 diabetic patients under its care at 17 hospitals (providing secondary care for 40%) and 73 General Outpatient Clinics (providing primary care for 60%). The patient population has been growing at 6% to 8% per year over the past 5 years, estimated to include over 95% of all diagnosed patients in Hong Kong. In order to provide equitable and a minimal level of care within resources and local system factors constraints, a Clinical Practice Guideline on the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus was drawn in 2013 to guide a system approach to providing diabetes care. There is an algorithm for the use of various hypoglycemic agents. An organizational drug formulary governs that less expansive options have to be used first. A number of clinical care and patient empowerment programs have been set up to support structured and systematic diabetes care. With such a system approach, there have been overall improvements in diabetes care with the percentage of patients with glycosylated hemoglobin <7% rising from 40% in 2010 to 52% in 2015.
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We developed a patient-centered, smartphone-based, diabetes care system (PSDCS). This study aims to test the feasibility of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) reduction with the PSDCS.
This study was a single-arm pilot study. The participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus were instructed to use the PSDCS, which integrates a Bluetooth-connected glucometer, digital food diary, and wearable physical activity monitoring device. The primary end point was the change in HbA1c from baseline after a 12-week intervention.
Twenty-nine patients aged 53.9±9.1 years completed the study. HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose levels decreased significantly from baseline (7.7%±0.7% to 7.1%±0.6%,
A 12-week application of the PSDCS to patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes resulted in a significant HbA1c reduction with tolerable safety profiles; these findings require confirmation in a future randomized controlled trial.
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We aimed to assess the efficacy of the smartphone-based health application for glucose control and patient satisfaction with the mobile network system used for glucose self-monitoring.
Thirty-five patients were provided with a smartphone device, and self-measured blood glucose data were automatically transferred to the medical staff through the smartphone application over the course of 12 weeks. The smartphone user group was divided into two subgroups (more satisfied group vs. less satisfied group) based on the results of questionnaire surveys regarding satisfaction, comfort, convenience, and functionality, as well as their willingness to use the smartphone application in the future. The control group was set up via a review of electronic medical records by group matching in terms of age, sex, doctor in charge, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).
Both the smartphone group and the control group showed a tendency towards a decrease in the HbA1c level after 3 months (7.7%±0.7% to 7.5%±0.7%,
In addition to medical feedback, device and network-related patient satisfaction play a crucial role in blood glucose management. Therefore, for the smartphone app-based blood glucose monitoring to be effective, it is essential to provide the patient with a well-functioning high quality tool capable of increasing patient satisfaction and willingness to use.
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