OTN and partners test self-management app for type 2 diabetes

An OTN-led pilot project is testing the effectiveness of a diabetes app – BlueStar® -- on outcomes for people with type 2 diabetes.

Funded by Canada Health Infoway and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, the pilot kicked off at St. Joseph’s Care Group (Thunder Bay), to be followed shortly by William Osler Health System and North York General Hospital. The pilot supports Ontario’s Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care by focusing on improving access to care, particularly in the home and community.

A total of about 300 patients will receive the app installed on a Samsung device along with mobile data connectivity for the duration of the study. The intervention supplements standard diabetes care provided by the partnering organizations.

“The goal is to see if people with type 2 diabetes can set and achieve self-management goals. We also want to test whether the data collection and analysis can help healthcare practitioners provide more informed care,” says Dr. Ed Brown, OTN’s CEO. “We believe technology-assisted self-management can provide enormous benefits both to patients and the healthcare system.”

The diabetes app, which is Food and Drug Administration-cleared in the United States, has been modified and cleared for use in Canada. The BlueStar® self-management and lifestyle tracking solution enables patients to store data such as blood glucose readings, activities, exercise, sleep patterns, dietary patterns and medications. Based on their data, patients receive customized advice on behaviour, diet and medication modifications.

The average level of blood glucose will be measured at pilot start, at three months and at six months. The Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care Health will evaluate the results of the pilot, which runs until March 2017.

To read more about other innovative virtual care projects OTN has on the go, please visit otn.ca/innovation