Digital enablers for integrated care – a design workshop

In ‘Region A’, like in many other regions and countries, diabetes is a prevalent condition affecting one in twenty people. Type 2 diabetes is rapidly increasing in ‘Region A’, and currently accounts for about 87% of the cases in total. Diabetes has been recognized as an exemplar long term condition, both in terms of the growing number of people with type 2 diabetes, and in terms of the serious and expensive complications it can bring to the sufferers. Maintaining and improving the quality of diabetes services, according to the ‘Region A’s government, against the backdrop of increase in patient numbers and the increased pressure on the health and care services is one of the key challenges. Those involved in diabetes care include the individual, the carer, broader social groups, and public services at multiple levels. However, as with many condition groups, flow of information and decision making is often disjointed with poor communications between these players.

The digital health and care innovation centre organised a multidisciplinary and inter-sectoral ecosystem event to explore the potential opportunities for better management of diabetes with a person centred approach. This event resulted in a call for innovation into digital solutions for managing diabetes. Seven project proposals were accepted by the Innovation Centre for further development.
These seven projects offered partial solutions for the management of diabetes. As a result of the analysis of these projects, a comprehensive conceptual framework for connected health and care for the management of diabetes, has been developed. This conceptual framework has the potential to be applied to any other chronic care condition or multi conditions.