Wisconsin Partnership Leverages Digital Tools to Address Diabetes
More than 34 million Americans have diabetes in 2020, up from 27 million in 2018. To address this growing chronic healthcare crisis, the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin health network and Network Health, a Wisconsin-based health insurer, are using digital health tools to help patients manage their diabetes.
The Milwaukee-based network includes five hospitals, nearly 2,000 physicians and more than 40 health centers and clinics. It has begun using Glooko, a digital health platform used by patients and their physicians to collect and share their diabetes and activity data. The company’s software platforms, Glooko and diasend, empower diabetes management by collecting data from blood-glucose meters, CGMs, insulin pumps, pens and activity trackers.
Glooko is prescribed to patients by their medical provider through Xealth, a digital health and workflow optimization platform, enabling providers to increase their visibility into how patients are managing their diabetes. Patients receive a better understanding of how their body is interacting with food, exercise and medication such as insulin as well as a deeper connection with their care team, the network said.
Xealth spun out of Providence St. Joseph Health in 2017, and investors include Atrium Health, Cleveland Clinic, MemorialCare Innovation Fund, McKesson Ventures, Novartis, Philips, and ResMed as well as Providence Ventures, UPMC and the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin Health Network.
“People living with diabetes can experience rapid and dangerous changes to their glucose and A1c levels, making visibility into these changes important for ongoing care,” said Bradley Crotty M.D., M.P.H., chief digital engagement officer and internist with the Froedtert & MCW health network, in a statement. “As the first health system in the U.S. to add Glooko to our digiceutical formulary, we recognized the value it brings to patients early on. With Xealth delivering the Glooko mobile app for patients, clinicians have integrated access to the patients’ current information, which leads to more informed patient care decisions, even when the patient cannot visit the clinic in person.”
Diabetes data collected by Glooko is securely shared with the patient’s physician and can be visualized in actionable charts and graphs, creating a foundation for doctor-patient collaboration and confident treatment decisions. Although the digital health app is available to any diabetic patient via all app stores, the network said, incorporating Xealth’s digital health platform with clinician recommendation has shown increased patient engagement rates as compared to a direct-to-consumer approach.
Based on early data showing improvement for patients, Network Health, which offers health insurance services to employers, individuals and families in more than 23 counties throughout Wisconsin, embarked on a partnership to expand its use for members. To date, clinicians have ordered Glooko for 900 Network Health patients.
