On July 21st, the American Diabetes Association held a webinar—in partnership with Ro—that focused on how technology can help provide effective chronic care management and treatment. In addition to clinical benefits, panelists also discussed key legal and regulatory issues for launching direct to consumer telehealth and remote patient monitoring services.
The panel was moderated by Heather Landi (Senior Editor of Fierce Healthcare) and included Dr. Melynda Barnes (SVP of Medical Affairs and Research at Ro), Dr. Mansur Shomali, MD, CM (Chief Medical Officer at Welldoc), Amar Kendale (Chief Product Officer at Livongo), and Nathaniel Lacktman (Partner and Chair of Foley & Lardner's Telemedicine & Digital Health Industry Team).
Throughout the webinar, there was a strong emphasis on the suitability of chronic care management tools to achieve patient-centered care through new technologies. Patients are empowered to have that one-on-one or "connect-to-care" access with their physician when needed and throughout the month, rather than just one-time consults during their annual physical. This allows patients and clinicians to address potential issues and complaints in real time. This approach can reduce the demand for in-person and emergency visits to those who actually need that level of care.
In the specific case of diabetes, having a product with connected technology that allows patients to monitor their condition with real time data—such as a glucometer device with cellular connectivity that Livongo provides its users—has been demonstrated to lead to a change in patient behaviors and meaningful improvement in their health and overall clinical outcomes. With stronger buy-in from mainstream academic institutions and health systems in support of this use of technology, along with emerging regulatory changes related to payments and licensure, the conversation has gone from skepticism to how to use this tool effectively to how to realize its full potential.
You can watch webinar in its entirety on YouTube here.
Originally published 29 July, 2020
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