Company History
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In 1993, while in graduate school, Kazi Ahmed was diagnosed
with diabetes. Seeking a way to lead a near-normal quality of
life – while dealing with a disease that afflicted both
of his parents – Ahmed took a proactive approach by consulting
with specialists and poring over thousands of papers, abstracts
and other studies about diabetes. He already knew the potential
devastation of diabetes and its complications: blindness, kidney
disease and nerve damage resulting in amputation. But these
results were not inevitable, for an important study – the
Diabetes Control and Complications Trial – in that same
year showed that intense monitoring and tight glucose control
can reduce dramatically or even prevent long-term diabetes-related
complications.
Ahmed used these research findings, along with his computer
programming skills, to devise a blood glucose tracking system
for use on his hand-held computer. It didn’t take long
for him to discover the potential of his diabetes management
tool and realize that many others – such as the more
than 10 million Americans or 150 million worldwide inhabitants
diagnosed with diabetes – could benefit from the program
as well. With Ahmed’s life savings and additional funding
from investors, NuMedics, Inc. was born. The company’s
first product was labeled Diabetes Partner™ –
a comprehensive software application that enables diabetes
patients to easily monitor insulin dosages, nutritional intake
and blood glucose levels. Unlike the traditional handwritten
log books many diabetes patients use, Diabetes Partner
presents individuals with more than just numbers; the program
displays the data in color-coded graphs and charts to provide
a visual representation of trends and patterns.
 Diabetes Partner received a positive response from care providers
and patients alike, and the company soon realized that in
order to transform and improve diabetes care, similar electronic
tools were needed in physicians’ offices. So, the growing
NuMedics team designed CliniPro® to allow care providers
access to patient charts, data tracking and analysis tools,
an appointment book, and an electronic mail system directly
from their computer desktops. With CliniPro, healthcare professionals
can also establish an electronic link with their patients
who use Diabetes Partner and complete the telemedicine
bridge. Patients can transfer their healthcare data via secure
modem connection, through NuMedics, to their physicians for
ongoing, accurate, immediate monitoring. The data, in turn,
become valuable, secure information for vital outcomes and
other studies.
By late 1997, after building the development team and completing
the company’s initial two products, the vision of proactive,
interactive diabetes management tools that facilitate a higher
standard – yet lower cost – of care had become a
reality.
NuMedics continues to move forward with its plan to modify its platform software technology
to address other chronic illnesses and situations in which
careful monitoring and management are essential.
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