Home health monitoring and diabetes: a web-based approach to achieving better control

Abstract

MyCareTeam is a web-based application designed to facilitate self-monitoring and improve care provider monitoring of individuals with diabetes while improving communications between patients and their care providers. Authorized users of MyCareTeam access patient data via a secure socket layer (SSL) connection. A standalone application was developed to read the glucose readings directly from different manufacturer’s glucose meters and create a data file of those values on the patient’s local personal computer. Once securely connected to the MyCareTeam web site, the patient uploads the data file to the secure database. The data is automatically analyzed and presented in multiple formats to the patient and available to their care provider when he/she next visits MyCareTeam. A sixteen patient pilot study was undertaken at Georgetown University Medical Center using the MyCareTeam application to show technical feasibility. The patients that used the web site more frequently improved their diabetes control more than those that used it sporadically. Larger clinical trials are underway at the Boston VA in Massachusetts and Windber Medical Center in Pennsylvania.