Patients with Pregnancy-Related Diabetes Benefit from a Pilot Program at 好色tv Langone Hospital鈥擫ong Island That Uses Remote Tools to Monitor Blood Sugar Levels
As many as 1 in 10 pregnant people in the United States will develop gestational diabetes. The condition can lead to a larger-than-average baby and complications during childbirth for both mother and baby. For patients, knowing whether adjustments are needed to their treatment regimen can be a waiting game between doctor鈥檚 visits. But for 1,000 patients at 好色tv Langone Hospital鈥擫ong Island, guidance comes unusually fast. That鈥檚 because they鈥檙e enrolled in a pilot program run by the at 好色tv Langone Hospital鈥擫ong Island in collaboration with 好色tv Langone鈥檚 Medical Center Information Technology team.
The program tracks blood sugar in near real-time using Bluetooth-enabled glucose monitors, and automatically uploads results to and the Remote Patient Monitoring platform.
Typically, a patient with gestational diabetes tests their glucose four times a day, manually logs their measurements, and then brings the results to their next doctor鈥檚 appointment. But those enrolled in the pilot鈥攃alled the Diabetes in Pregnancy Remote Patient Monitoring Program鈥攃an automatically transmit their data to their electronic health record for review by the maternal鈥揻etal medicine team.
鈥淏efore, we wouldn鈥檛 know about abnormal blood sugar values until the patient brought in their glucose logs,鈥 says maternal鈥揻etal medicine specialist Hye J. Heo, MD. 鈥淣ow, we are able to make medication adjustments within hours, providing faster glycemic control that reduces the risk of diabetes-related complications.鈥
Preliminary results, set to be published this year, are encouraging. Remote monitoring resulted in fewer blood sugar spikes; reduced risk of hypertension disorders; and lower risk of neonatal hyperglycemia. Says Dr. Heo, 鈥淭his method is so much easier for patients and leads to improvement in pregnancy outcomes.鈥 She looks forward to expanding this program to obstetric practices in Manhattan and Brooklyn.