A partnership between Novo Nordisk and Abbott means people living with diabetes can now better review their glucose patterns to help manage the condition.
Novo Nordisk’s smart connected pens are now compatible with the Abbott FreeStyle LibreLink app. The integration means that diabetic patients using the NovoPen 6 or the NovoPen Echo Plus are able to view both their insulin dosing data and their glucose data together in one place.
To automatically upload their insulin dosing data, users can tap the pen against their smart phone. Once the data is uploaded it can be viewed alongside their glucose data to help diabetics review how different factors like dose timing and amount of insulin can impact their glucose patterns.
Su Down, a nurse consultant in diabetes at Somerset Foundation Trust, said: “Individually these two technologies provide valuable information for people managing their diabetes. Linked together, however they can provide an additional insight into the impact of both dosing and timing of injection on glucose levels.
“Providing people with diabetes and health care professionals with this insightful information offers an additional perspective, much like adding another piece to the puzzle – we see more of the overall picture, on which to base diabetes management decisions.”
Healthcare professionals ask people with diabetes to record their insulin dose data to add context to their glucose readings.
But the process can be time consuming and lead to missing, incomplete or inaccurate data. Automating the process can help people with diabetes better understand how to manage their condition.
Pinder Sahota, general manager at Novo Nordisk UK, said: “People living with diabetes can make up to 180 additional health-related decisions a day compared to people without diabetes – the constant multi-tasking can be emotionally and physically draining.
“I hope that bringing glucose and insulin data together in one place will make some of these decisions a little easier, giving people living with diabetes in the UK more time and energy back for day-to-day life.”
Earlier this year it was announced that all type 1 diabetic patients would receive access to flash glucose monitors to help manage the condition after new guidance was published.
17 November 2022 @ 12:16
Speaking as both a Healthcare IT Professional and as a person with Type 1 diabetes this is great news. The integration between the Smart Pen and the Freestyle Libre sensor now means that important information will be in one place – and accessible to patients, their carers and their healthcare providers. This will help in the management of my diabetes and for parents with children with Type 1 it will give them peace of mind and access to the information that they need to monitor their child’s health.
It just needs individual NHS ICBs to ensure that both the Smart Pen and the Libre 2 is available on prescription to all of those that need it – something that some regions have been slow to adopt despite NICE guidance on the matter.
Well done to Novo Nordisk and Abbott!