Like many physicians, Suzanne Clough, MD, struggled to meet her patients’ needs regarding their type 2 diabetes in a few 12-minute visits each year. But too often, patients’ concerns about day-to-day condition management weren’t fully addressed. Many were frustrated, and some didn’t follow her guidance because they weren’t seeing results.
The recommendations, she said, “didn’t have value [for them].”
Clough wondered whether real-time, 24/7 diabetes management support would help. That question led her on a 10-year journey to develop the WellDoc BlueStar mobile app for patients with type 2 diabetes. It analyzes trends in patient-entered data on blood glucose level, carbohydrate consumption, medication use, and other information to provide real-time coaching for the patient. Patients can then securely share the data with their physician through a web portal.