The CDC reports that 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes, with 90-95% of them having type 2 diabetes, most over the age of 45, who require several glucose checks per day. According to research in the National Library of Medicine, people with type 2 diabetes are 30% more likely to be hospitalized than the typical population. Should hospitalization occur, additional precautions are required to mitigate risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Personal protection equipment (PPE) is critical to healthcare professionals caring for their patients and shortages are common. While some companies such as Tieks, LVMH, and H&M are pledging to make or supply masks to healthcare workers, the need to conserve these resources has led to new innovations.
One such innovator is Dexcom, a new partner of KORE, who has created a solution called G6, a continuous glucose monitoring system that allows healthcare professionals to reduce the number of in-person glucose level checks on patients who are receiving in-patient hospital care for COVID-19.
Dexcom’s solution allows for continuous glucose monitoring by measuring glucose levels automatically every five minutes and transmitting the data to a handheld mobile device, which can be accessed from a safe distance. Healthcare providers can then safely and accurately monitor blood glucose levels remotely – only using one set of PPE daily in order to change out the device, or other times when immediate intervention is necessary.
“Doing all that we can to support the health and safety of the patients and healthcare workers currently battling this novel virus is a top priority for our company,” said Matt Dolan, senior vice president and general manager at Dexcom. “It’s our hope to reduce their exposure, eliminate unnecessary waste of limited PPE supplies, and improve the efficiency of the hospitals who are treating these patients.”
Dexcom approached KORE Health to help launch this solution with record speed in order to maximize protection for areas that need it most. KORE Health was able to procure fully certified and ISO-compliant devices, complete engineering testing and approval, identify connectivity solutions, and deploy the first wave of equipped devices in just over a week – ensuring rapid speed-to-market for this critical solution.
“We are in an unprecedented situation and the KORE team is looking for ways to help,” commented Romil Bahl, President & CEO at KORE. “When the Dexcom team approached us to help in short timeframes, our healthcare team was up to the challenge. We are honored that our knowledge and experience in connectivity and device procurement, certification, and deployment is playing a role in this innovative solution and that we are able to help in the global war against COVID-19.”
By reducing the number of in-person interactions for routine glucose monitoring, Dexcom and KORE are hoping to limit the amount of exposure for both healthcare workers and patients alike. At the same time, they want to maintain the maximum level of accuracy and care provided to patients with diabetes during their hospitalization and treatment period. G6 from Dexcom accomplishes both while also maximizing the usage of PPE – prolonging the protection of healthcare workers and lowering hospital overhead.
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Learn more about how Dexcom and other businesses are using IoT solutions to evolve in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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