67
magazine
ALRAQABA
on almost all aspects of managing diabetes as
a disease, including the business and technical
aspects of problems and proposed solutions.
The problems that we have discussed are inher-
ent in the standards and procedures in the health
industry. The care systems are too dependent
on medical professionals. Diabetes on the other
hand is not only a disease but also a social and
behavioural problem and the solutions involve a
proportion of changes in lifestyle and psycho-
logical aspects of life. This makes it a not only a
medical problem but also a social problem and
changing this much in the life of a patient is not
an easy task. Doctors provide comprehensive
training and education programs, but these pro-
grams are costly and time consuming making it
difficult to cope with the magnitude of diabetes
in the general public.
No doubt the conventional model is delivering
what best it can, but there is a significant chance
of improvement in many areas. The solution that
involves many aspects and targets the problem
from many sides can be a good approach; the
multi-faced problem can be solved with a multi-
faced solution. Such a solution
would not only remain conserva-
tive but also extend to the social
and behavioural aspects of pa-
tients and catalyse changes that
are desirable by doctors. In this
way, managing diabetes will be
much easier.
Although it seems a simplified so-
lution, the aspects of all this should
remain under cover of health in-
dustry rules and regulations. Edu-
cation and care systems that the
patients not only use but also ac-
company can have a behavioural
impact on the lives of patients.
The project has recommended im-
plementing systems in a distribut-
ed manner and providing backend
integration. This should be done
carefully and in collaboration with
the stakeholders, as it is impera-
tive to the success of the system.
Management of the patient’s diet
should be a patient’s responsibility.
However, doctors should accom-
pany them by means of an assisting application
that can provide them with knowledge and edu-
cation about the diet and help them make deci-
sions about their diet on the go. The impact of
this activity should be monitored through differ-
ent scales, and targeted improvements should
be made with the passage of time. The feedback
system and open- ended approaches should al-
ways be provided in the applications, as the life
of a patient evolves with time.
To achieve greater impact of this whole activity,
the public sharing of knowledge and dissemina-
tion should be made as a society work, and the
patients with greater knowledge should be able
to share their experience with others and make
contribution to the programmes. This way, net-
work effects of the automation program can be
achieved and a learner in our system can be a
contributor at some time. This will help a lot in
decreasing the burden on the health systems
and change the lives of the patients and doctors
to create a healthy society
■
Figure-3