A Project to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Shared Web-Based Log in Managing Blood Glucose Levels among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Diabetes is a chronic disease that is widely recognized as one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. Given the chronic nature of diabetes, selfcare management is key to improving patient outcomes and reducing the burden on the healthcare system. Self-monitoring of blood glucose is integral to self-care management of diabetes. Blood glucose monitoring is a shared responsibility, and constant communication between the patient and provider is vital in the daily management of diabetes, including diet, exercise, medications, and monitoring of blood glucose levels. When the patient does not have insurance coverage, frequent clinic visits for blood glucose monitoring and medication adjustments may become unaffordable, causing patients to remain undertreated or untreated for long periods of time. In such instances, a web-based log of daily glucose levels that is shared between the patient and the clinician may reduce the need for frequent clinic visits resulting in lower costs and more accessible care for low income or uninsured patients. In this project, 30 Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients maintained a shared web-based log on Diabetes 24/7, which was also accessible to the investigator, for one month. The investigator monitored their blood glucose levels daily and provided feedback to the patients as needed based on the reported levels. Analysis using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test indicated that the data was significant at p<0.0001 (study calculated p<0.00008), indicating the effectiveness of a shared web-based blood glucose log in the daily management of diabetes.