Digitalization in Diabetology

The aim of this new chapter in the clinical practice guidelines of the German Diabetes Society (DDG) is to present aspects of digitalization in diabetology in outpatient and inpatient clinical practice.

For aspects that primarily concern diabetes technology, such as glucose sensors and continuous glucose measurements, we refer to the corresponding chapter in the DDGʼs clinical practice guideline and, for the Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) systems, we refer to the current S3 Guideline for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, version 5.0 dated 2023.

At this point in 2024, we will not yet delve into the scientific evaluation criteria of the DDG for digital health applications (DiGAs), which are currently being evaluated; the electronic diabetes record of the DDG (eDA) or the digital disease management program (dDMP) planned by the government as they have not yet been regularly implemented in care. Since the clinical practice guidelines of the DDG are updated annually, these topics will be included in care in the future. Furthermore, we will not go into the telematics infrastructure and “electronic patient record (ePA) for all” this year, because the design and implementation of the new gematik concept are still in progress.

The DDGʼs clinical practice guidelines on digitalisation are a “living system” and are updated annually, with the topics addressed changing in the future as needed.

Therefore, the following topics will be addressed this year:

• Positions of the DDG Digital Code

• Smart pens

• DiGAs with listing in the DiGA Directory

• Video training and telehealth

• Digitalisation of diabetes care in the inpatient sector

• Data protection and security in practice

Digitalisation is changing all areas of medicine including diagnostics, monitoring, therapy, care, screening and prevention, as well as counselling and education. However, it also represents a unique opportunity to connect different disciplines through the use of different digital instruments (e. g. apps, smartphones, tablets, telemedical applications) and to provide medical expertise on a large scale and in a timely manner The doctor-patient relationship, the roles of the doctor, patient and other participants in the health sector will change as a result. The clinical decision-making aids for doctors and patients, the evaluation of wearables and lifestyle apps as well as the integration of telemedicine and communications are relevant here.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
06. Mai 2025

• References

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