IBM partners with Medtronic to improve diabetes care
IT giant IBM and medical technology firm Medtronic are partnering up to develop a new generation of personalised diabetes management solutions. By combining diabetes medical devices and health data with analytics and cognitive computing the partners aim at transforming diabetes management and improve the lives of millions of diabetes patients around the world.
Worldwide more than 387 million people are living with diabetes, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates, with global spending to treat diabetes and manage complications totalling at least $612 billion in 2014 alone. As managing of the disease is very complex and expensive for the healthcare systems, better management, through technology advancements and integrated care solutions, will not only improve the quality of life of millions of people, but also save a lot of money.
To help achieve this goal, IBM has recently partnered up with diabetes-focussed medical technology firm Medtronic* to develop new diabetes management solutions, which combine Medtronic’s existing diabetes devices with analytics and cognitive computing offered by IBM Watson Health, the firm’s healthcare platform. The new solutions will continuously gather and analyse data from the diabetes devices in real-time and combine this with other data from sources such as electronic medical records, health insurance claims and population health data, in order to discover patterns as well as predict possible health risks.
In addition to the diabetes management solutions, the partners will develop personalised care plans for health care providers and their patients to help them improve care efficiency and outcomes.
“Devices alone cannot transform diabetes care. The combination of leadership technologies, big data, informatics and world-class patient management are all required to drive effective results in diabetes care,” explains Hooman Hakami, Executive Vice President and President of the Diabetes Group at Medtronic. “Medtronic and IBM intend to bring these capabilities together to pioneer a new level of care that will improve outcomes and lower cost so people living with diabetes can enjoy greater freedom and better health.”
John Kelly, Senior Vice President of Solutions Portfolio and Research, adds: “We are building a secure, open innovation platform that could change the face of diabetes management. Medtronic and IBM can marry the power of analytics, cognitive computing and patient engagement with the world’s most sophisticated diabetes management devices to truly change how people with diabetes live.”
* Medtronic is an in 1949 founded firm that aims to transform diabetes care by expanding access, integrating care and improving outcomes.
