Outpatient Technologies for the Treatment and Prevention of Diabetes

Diabetes care has undergone dramatic changes throughout time that can be attributed to breakthroughs in either pharmacotherapy or technology. These breakthroughs were aimed at either improving outcomes in terms of reduction or prevention of complications or enhancing our capacity to diagnose the disease because of the human and economic impact of failing to diagnose and intervene appropriately. Recent advances in outpatient technology for glucose measurement have brought to the field of diabetes the capacity to better achieve both of these necessary goals: detection and effective intervention. These new technologies are extending the capabilities of both physicians and patients to diagnose diabetes and effectively control blood glucose. They are also increasing awareness and diagnosis of states of elevated glucose that may be associated with an increased risk of diabetes. This allows patients with elevated glucose to be targeted for prevention strategies before the development of diabetes.