Cell Phone Checkups Monitor Chronic Ills

Most teens say they couldn't live without their cell phones. For some of them, the exaggeration may soon have a kernel of truth.

Doctors are testing technology that uses wireless data, text messaging and other youth-friendly technology to monitor and manage chronic illnesses.

While these systems don't address life-and-death medical emergencies, some experts say the emerging field does show promise for improving the lives of those with long-term conditions.

Glenn Leinart, a diabetic 15-year-old who took part in clinical trials of cell-phone monitoring technology earlier this year, is sold on it.

He recorded his daily blood sugar readings with a home glucose meter linked wirelessly to his cell phone.

Using the phone, he sent the data to his health care provider and heard back via text message about how he was doing.

"It just makes things a lot easier for doctor-patient communication," said Leinart, who lives in Benson, N.C., and plans to go to medical school.

Without the technology, Leinart would have to keep a written log of his readings and share it with his health care provider later.

The new setup made life simpler and let him know right away whether he was on the right track, he says.

"It really just gives you peace of mind because you know that someone who is a medical professional is looking at what's going on every day," Leinart said.

Chronic disease monitoring and management, which arms medical professionals with real-time biometric data, has drawn the interest of tech companies.

"It's pretty clear that this is a trend," said Marc Holland, an analyst for Health Industry Insights, a unit of market research firm IDC.

Holland says he's not surprised to see tech companies targeting diabetes first. The condition describes a group of potentially serious diseases marked by high levels of blood sugar due to insulin production problems. Monitoring blood sugar levels can help control the condition and reduce complications.

Some 20.8 million people in the U.S. -- 7% of the population -- have the illness, according to the American Diabetes Association.

"It's the top chronic condition for vendors to target their product development," Holland said.

Other conditions that could benefit from such technology include hypertension, chronic heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, he says.

Confidant, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., provided the blood-sugar monitoring system that Leinart tested.

Its software and services let patients easily collect readings from a home glucose meter, blood pressure cuff or electronic scale, and answer simple questions about diet, exercise and medication regimen.

The product, which requires a prescription, costs about $30 a month.

Confidant sells it to Structure House, a Durham, N.C.-based weight loss program. And it's in partnership with Ho'okele Personal Health Planner, a Honolulu-based medical services company that sells it for managing diabetes.

Confidant CEO Bjorn Nordwall says he hopes to sell the products over the counter eventually.

He says the technology could be used for a variety of conditions requiring monitoring, not just obesity and diabetes.

"While the passion has been and is around diabetes, what we have is a platform for management of chronic disease," Nordwall said.

But the biggest attraction -- at least for adolescents -- may be the cell phone link.

"It allows kids to use a technology that they want to carry around anyway -- that's a cell phone," said pediatrician Marc Piehl, who participated in the clinical trial.

Paying attention to blood sugar is critical for diabetics, and cell phone-delivered monitoring and feedback can help younger patients in particular with that process, he says.

"It gives them an incentive to adhere to diabetes self-management," he said.

Piehl specializes in emergency and intensive care, and he directs the pediatric diabetes program at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in the Research Triangle Park area.

Teenage diabetics frequently struggle with managing the disease, which requires constant attention, he says.

"All the time we see adolescents whose diabetes is really out of control, and there are very few tools available to us to help them," Piehl said.

Health care providers and payers need more data about the economic impact of advanced medical monitoring and management, says Holland, the analyst. The next step will be convincing insurance companies to cover the cost.

"It's just a matter of time before private and public health insurance plans reimburse for these services," Holland said.