As tech advances, questions remain
San Diego’s Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute is another player in the diabetes/digital health world. It’s currently working on several clinical trials of diabetes technology, including a study into whether older adults with type 1 diabetes will benefit from a continuous glucose monitoring device with a wireless connection.
Dr. Athena Philis-Tsimikas
Devices that measure glucose can also suffer from errors in transmission, she said. And the existing continuous glucose monitors have trouble with accuracy at the very highest and lowest glucose levels, she said, although they are improving.
There are other questions about future wearable technology for diabetes: Will the devices cost more than continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGM), which are already pricey? How will private health information be protected? (As Mr. Ballinger noted, “wearable data itself is out of the scope of HIPAA.”) And will patients actually take action when their devices diagnose diabetes or warn them that their glucose levels are out of whack?