Beyond the EHR: How Digital Health Tools Foster Participatory Health and Self-Care for Patients with Diabetes

Abstract

Just as physicians managing patients with diabetes find that it is a data-driven process, for patients living with diabetes, it is even more so, as physicians see them every few months, but patients need to live with diabetes all the time. Fortunately, the advent of the web has allowed patients to connect with information, medical care, and other patients, while mobile and connected technologies such as smartphones have provided the flexibility to do this—and to manage and share their health information—from anywhere. Healthcare professionals who care for patients with diabetes should be aware of the digital health technologies that enable patients to better care for themselves, be more active participants in their healthcare, and improve the quality of their lives.