The convergence of robust broadband technology and a growing awareness of the benefits of e-health is producing new and innovative approaches to handling chronic diseases, such as diabetes.  The Center for Connected Health has assembled an interesting cross-section of some of these communications-based solutions – text messaging, telephone hookups, Internet monitoring – on its diabetes page. One study highlighted there from the Advanced Medical Technology Association reported that 400 diabetes patients monitored by in-home glucose meters and video conferencing showed significantly greater improvement in reducing average blood sugar levels than those who did not receive such monitoring.

An estimated 20 million Americans suffer from diabetes, including those who are not yet diagnosed. The disease, now the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, is often associated with a number of complications such as heart disease and blindness. Among the many benefits that e-health brings to this important health care issue are educating patients about self-management techniques, blood glucose monitoring, instructions on taking a blood sample, and delivering the results to health care professionals via a broadband connection. Improved control of cholesterol or blood lipids (for example, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides) can reduce cardiovascular complications of diabetes by 20 percent to 50 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Clearly, the new possibilities that broadband technology is bringing to the health care field today are not just a real advance in science but also a means of better treating chronic diseases – and probably saving lives in the process.

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