mHealth Congress: UAE addresses diabetes by putting mHealth tools to the test

BOSTON--The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently experiencing a number of public health epidemics including a rise in obesity and diabetes, but without the resources to treat the onslaught of patients requiring care, some are pushing mobile health tools as a potential solution. Santanu Kunal Biswas, BE, spoke at the 4th annual Mobile Health Conference to tell how DU, a mobile services company, is stepping up to the challenge.

While the UAE government provides free healthcare for its citizens, delivery is complicated by differing regulations in the country’s eight emirates and “even if the government imperative or focus is on providing free healthcare, it’s a big bill,” according to Biswas, director of eHealth services at DU. In addition, there is only one public health center specializing in diabetes in the country.

The International Diabetes Federation currently lists the UAE tenth in terms of prevalence and estimates the nation will be third by 2030. More than half of the nation’s youth are obese and in danger of developing type 2 diabetes, the majority of the population are physically inactive and three-quarters do not eat enough fruits and vegetables.

“Awareness among the general population of adverse health consequences of behavior is inadequate, largely because of the delay between cause and effect,” said Biswas.

While there is a shortage of endocrinologists and diabetes in the UAE, there is no shortage of cellphones; virtually everyone has access to one. With this in mind, DU began offering mHealth tools to diabetics to help them manage their health.

One service offered by DU is a call center  staffed with local doctors that patients can call for health advice. Thus far, 130,000 have signed up and they have reported high levels of satisfaction. Another service allows primary care providers to call specialists to help deliver care to diabetics.

“Doctors have consistently shown that the majority of clinical cases handled over the phone have been dealt with internally to a complete resolution, reducing the need for unnecessary hospital visits,” Biswas said.

DU also offers a smartphone app that patients can use to educate themselves and monitor their health individually.

While the services already offered are a step forward for the UAE’s diabetic population, DU also is planning to unroll a service that will allow patients to take glucose and blood pressure readings from home and upload them into EHRs and personal health records.

Before that service goes into effect, though, mHealth advocates need to overcome physician resistance and detail the value to patients, according to Biswas.