‎How technology has helped diabetics in Chile keep the disease under control

Currently, interactions in health centers have been affected by security measures, physical distancing and care taken worldwide, which has given special relevance to telehealth and remote monitoring for the treatment of several pathologies, including diabetes.

‎According to the ‎‎‎‎International Diabetes Federation, ‎‎it is estimated that there are around 463 million people living with this condition worldwide, with a ‎‎prevalence of 9%. However, according ‎‎to a study presented by the ‎‎Ministry‎‎ of Health‎‎ (MINSAL), in South America, ‎‎Chile is considered the country with the ‎‎highest prevalence of diabetes, reaching 12% of the population.‎

Timely information: Key to self-care and remote medical follow-up

Telehealth in diabetes has taken center stage thanks to the availability of several technologies and devices, which allow people with diabetes to continuously monitor their glucose levels, such as the FreeStyle Libre system.

Dr. Bezanilla explained that “unlike other devices that provide an image of the glucose level at a precise time of the day, continuous glucose monitoring devices offer a great advantage for telemedicine in the control of people living with diabetes, as it provides the doctor with a collection of data on how glucose levels change over time".

“Thanks to this, it is possible to visualize patterns on how glucose has changed during the day and night: if it has risen, fallen or has remained stable, which allows much faster decisions to be made to indicate a timely treatment change, if it is necessary ”, she added.

Now, people with diabetes and health specialists can make informed decisions together for their treatment and, if necessary, implement changes in their lifestyle, getting a healthier diet or frequency of physical activity, to better control their levels glucose. On the other hand, these technologies facilitate the exchange of this data with caregivers and healthcare professionals in real time, which is assisted by remote medical monitoring.

This is happening in Chile.