Patient Testimonials
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Jennifer
Age: 23
Jennifer was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 11 and
suffered with hard-to-control blood glucose levels
most of her life. She recalls days in junior high and early
high school when “every time I got a cold or the flu,
I became insulin resistant. They’d have me taking shots
as much as every half hour around the clock, which was really
hard at night – especially if I had school the next day
. . . They had me in the hospital almost every month during
some of my junior high years.”
Jennifer got married nearly two years ago; soon after,
she and her husband, John, discussed having children –
something many of her doctors had told her she’d never
be able to consider because of the high risk and complications
associated with diabetes and pregnancy. But, her hometown
doctor in eastern Oregon had referred her to a specialist
in Portland – some 160 miles away – who said pregnancy
would be possible . . . if Jennifer could keep her
blood glucose under control. That specialist, Beverley
E. Phillipson, MD, convinced Jennifer to try an insulin
pump, which helped her to achieve and maintain blood glucose
readings within the recommended range in the months prior
to conception.
“After we found out I was pregnant, they (the
care team in Dr. Phillipson’s office) wanted to
talk to me one-on-one (on a regular basis).
There was just no way I could get time off work,” Jennifer
says.
They tried monitoring Jennifer’s blood glucose levels
and medication dosages via fax and phone, but it just wasn’t
convenient. So, Dr. Phillipson suggested Diabetes Partner™, a software application
that would allow Jennifer to input vital information and transfer
it directly to the clinic via secure modem connection.
Throughout the pregnancy, Jennifer tested her blood glucose
up to 12 times a day and sent her electronic healthcare data
to Dr. Phillipson two to three times a week. With the software’s
e-mail capabilities, Jennifer says, “It’s
easy to just jot down a couple notes. If there’s something
that’s on my mind, I can write it down, send it, and
not try to remember it the next time I go to Portland.”
Because of the frequency of interaction facilitated by Diabetes Partner and CliniPro®, NuMedics’ clinical
application used by Dr. Phillipson, Jennifer and her care
team were able to identify potential problems and make changes
to her care plan more often.
After two months of pregnancy, Jennifer noted, “It’s
been going really well. My obstetrician has been very happy
with my blood sugar results.” The pregnancy, according
to Jennifer, motivated her to maintain good glucose control.
The graphical analysis in Diabetes Partner also motivated
Jennifer in her diabetes self-management routine.
“It’s been kind of encouraging because I like
to look at the (color-coded) charts and graphs.
It’s kind of fun to look at,” says Jennifer. “It
gives me more incentive to keep working at getting it where
it should be. When you just see numbers, it’s hard to
tell what’s going on. Even if I wasn’t pregnant,
I think it would be helpful and encouraging to keep working
on getting it (her blood glucose level) where it
should be.”
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Peter
Age: 56
Peter, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 30,
began using Diabetes Partner in early 1997. The software
was a step up from his previous tracking system – a program
he developed with Lotus 1-2-3TM
to input and chart blood glucose readings. While his customized
system was a good tracking tool that he could share with his
endocrinologist, Beverley E. Phillipson, MD, it lacked the
analysis capabilities found in Diabetes Partner.
“She (Dr. Phillipson) wouldn’t be able
to tie in the insulin dosages or determine whether my blood
sugar was high in the morning or evening,” Peter explains.
With Diabetes Partner, Peter keeps a daily electronic
log book of his blood glucose readings and insulin dosages,
and transfers the data via modem connection to Dr. Phillipson
every Sunday night. The software’s NuMailTM
system allows him to include an e-mail cover letter to
identify potential causes of fluctuations in his blood glucose
. . . or simply to express frustrations. Dr. Phillipson can
then use CliniPro, the clinical equivalent of Diabetes Partner, to recognize problems and offer healthcare recommendations
“without my having to go into the office to see her
. . . or wait three or four months until I see her next,”
says Peter.
“I think it’s a major benefit to diabetics and
the doctors who treat them. It gives me some tools to see
what’s going on with my diabetes . . . And, it lets me
stay in touch with my doctor without having to go see her
often,” Peter notes.
Ongoing monitoring, according to Peter, allows the care
team to provide better care and treatment, and facilitates
better control for the patient. And, that means a reduced
cost of healthcare – in terms of fewer office visits,
trips to the emergency room, and costly long-term complications,
such as kidney problems and nerve damage resulting in amputation.
“You pay a little up front (for the software)
so you don’t have to pay a lot (in terms of healthcare
costs) later on down the line,” Peter concludes.
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Felicia
Age: 5
Felicia began using Diabetes Partner not long after she
was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age two-and-a-half.
For her mother, Debbie, who records Felicia’s daily vitals
– blood glucose levels, medication dosage, food intake
– the software is a welcome replacement to traditional
tracking routines.
“It was wonderful,” she says. “It was
so much easier to keep track of her blood glucose. It was
an instant log book.”
And, unlike a traditional handwritten log book, Diabetes Partner graphs Felicia’s test results, making it easier
for Debbie to point out the peaks and lows and identify a
pattern. The visual aspect is especially helpful, according
to Debbie, because “numbers can be very frightening,”
and because Felicia is able to view the graphs and determine
– with the help of color coding – if she can add
a snack to her daily meal plan.
The software’s nutrition plan, Debbie notes, is also
helpful in managing her daughter’s diabetes. With Diabetes Partner, Debbie can input recipes and food combinations;
when she sends Felicia to a babysitter, she is able to print
a formatted meal plan directly from the computer.
When Diabetes Partner first entered into Felicia’s
diabetes management routine, the family participated in a
telemedicine pilot project with Felicia’s endocrinologist,
Jim Hansen, MD. On a regular basis,
Debbie transferred Felicia’s healthcare data via modem
connection to Dr. Hansen for review and evaluation.
“I loved being in that close of contact with the doctor,”
says Debbie, who found written recommendations transferred
via NuMail to be especially convenient and helpful.
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