How Hardware, Data And Artificial Intelligence Are Changing Diabetes Care

According to Søren Smed Østergaard, Vice President, Digital Health of Novo Nordisk, the most significant innovations in the diabetes space centered around hardware, artificial intelligence (AI) and data. He believes that having access to more accurate data on individual behavior and medication usage could positively impact people living with diabetes. "We know there is a huge discrepancy between how people should use medication and how they're using it," said Østergaard. "In 2003, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said improving medication adherence will have a more significant impact on the population's health than improvements to specific medical treatments. "Healthcare data today is often incomplete and too sparse to use for effective decision-making; we need to solve that first, but with this comes a plethora of ethical implications," said Østergaard. "People must have confidence that their data is being kept secure and used responsibly. Data sharing – creating a complete picture using data from different parties and devices – has the potential to revolutionize healthcare and outcomes, but robust data privacy policies must underpin it.