The Application of Digital Health in Diabetes Management

Abstract

Diabetes management is complex and multifarious as it contains numerous contexts including blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring, decision on daily insulin dose, strict diet, cautious planned exercises, and frequent clinical consultations. On the other hand, diabetes care requires patients’ major efforts on self-management and initiative. Moreover, there are enormous amounts of data transition and sharing of electronic medical records, insulin pumps, sensors, glucometers, and such between patients with diabetes and healthcare professionals. Various digital health technologies have hence been developed to assist and supervise patients’ daily diabetes management, in order to improve their medical adherence. Especially after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the era has witnessed a sudden growth of trend in applying digital health techniques in diabetes management. Increasingly, more patients with diabetes are using wearable or other technological devices to support diabetes self-management. Thus, this review article aims at conducting a horizontal comparison of current diabetes digital management in an international perspective, in order to provide some constructive suggestions on future research directions or references for improving diabetes tele-management in China in the post-pandemic era.