Savvy Updates, 11/16/20: Medtronic InPen, Global Diabetes Epidemic Action Plan, OPEN Project Survey

Medtronic launches connected smart insulin pen gained in Companion Medical deal, as reported by Conor Hale for FierceBiotech.com, 12 November 2020.

Designed for people with diabetes who take multiple injections per day, the FDA-cleared InPen will link with the medtech giant’s Guardian Connect continuous glucose monitoring system, to help track insulin doses alongside real-time blood sugar readings through a single smartphone app provided by Medtronic.

The InPen itself lasts for about a year and currently works with short-acting insulins, though the company is working to include longer-acting insulins in the future. Companion’s legacy app logs the amount of insulin on board and includes a bolus calculator for doses around meals. Medtronic said that app will continue to display information from other compatible glucose monitoring systems, but on a three-hour delay.

Experts outline action plan to address global diabetes epidemic was published by Regina Schaffer for Healio.com/endocrinology, 13 November 2020.

The growing diabetes epidemic requires urgent actions to reduce disease burden worldwide, including new, team-based approaches and data-driven integrated care, according to an action plan published in The Lancet.

“Despite the wealth of knowledge amassed by the scientific community on how to diagnose and treat diabetes, there is a lack of action in translating that knowledge to practice to benefit people with diabetes,” Juliana C.N. Chan, MB, ChB, MD, FRCP, professor of medicine and therapeutics and founding director of the Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told Healio. “In 2016, 44 global experts in the field of epidemiology, public health, clinical care and health economics from five continents were invited by The Lancet to synthesize new evidence and propose action plans to close the gaps in care, prevention, professional knowledge and data. For the last 4 years, these experts have performed an extensive review of available data to highlight the socio-biomedical nature of this epidemic, which calls for a societal-personalized solution by transforming the way diabetes care is delivered. This means early prevention and promoting self-management with ongoing data collection for decision-making.”

The Lancet Commission on Diabetes highlighted the utility of structured data collection through quality improvement programs to improve care standards and monitor clinical outcomes. The action plan was published in advance of World Diabetes Day on Nov. 14.

To celebrate National Diabetes Awareness Month 1010 (and to help something good to come out of this crazy year), PLEASE take the time to fill in the survey by OPEN Project, for anyone with T1 diabetes, or who lives with someone with T1 diabetes. This will help steer the future of technology by actually listening to your input! If you are married, PLEASE ask your spouse, with a smile, to fill out the survey! If you are taking care of a child with diabetes, PLEASE fill out the survey. And PLEASE SHARE THIS with those you know in your personal community who might also help by filling in the survey.

This survey is for ANY/ALL folks with Type 1 diabetes and their supporters (parents, spouses, etc.). If you are on Tandem Control IQ or Medtronic 670G or on any insulin pump or on MDI (injections), PLEASE TAKE THIS SURVEY!!! It officially closes at the end of November, so time is of the essence!

HERE’S THE LINK: https://survey.open-diabetes.eu/

How can YOU help? First and foremost, we would like you to fill out all the questions in our survey. When you start the survey, a random number, the participant ID, will be generated for you – we will never ask for your name or other identifying information. Your data will be kept anonymous!

We are also planning to run important follow-up studies. The ONLY way to get in touch with you about this will be if you also join Open Humans, so we can message you anonymously.

You can donate your device data, too!

You will also have the option to anonymously donate your device data (e.g. from Nightscout). This would GREATLY HELP our aim of exploring improvements to the (DIY)APS experience for all, now and in the future.