"There's an app for that" has become a cliché. The Medical Internet of Things is growing exponentially in terms of ideas, technologies, devices and data, but at this moment in time has not become a mainstream part of diabetes care as:
- Few people with or at risk of diabetes use apps for self-management
- Payers are reluctant to reimburse diabetes apps
- Clinicians are rarely recommending diabetes apps. It has even been suggested that health app developers are the modern day equivalent of snake oil salesmen!
To become mainstream, the challenge for the Digital Health community is to be able to answer simple questions such as:
- Who is your target audience?
- What are your metrics of success?
- What is your business model?
At Diabetes Technology Society we believe that Digital Health does have a future and offers a tremendous opportunity to reduce the burden of diabetes and healthcare costs. Together with the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, we are presenting the Digital Diabetes Congress to bring Digital Health forward in mainstream care. This two-day meeting will take place May 14-15, 2019, at the Marines' Memorial Hotel in San Francisco. We believe that participating companies and individuals will benefit enormously from having access to the skills of experienced clinicians, scientists, app developers, regulators and entrepreneurs.
We look forward to meeting you in San Francisco!
Best regards,
David C. Klonoff, MD, FACP, FRCPE, Fellow AIMBE
Medical Director, Diabetes Research Institute
Mills-Peninsula Medical Center
San Mateo, California
Dr. David Kerr, MD, FRCPE
Director of Research and Innovation
Sansum Diabetes Research Institute
Santa Barbara, California