CarePoint Health to partner with digital health startup to provide virtual diabetes care

CarePoint Health is set to partner with digital health startup Onduo in order to provide virtual diabetes care in Hudson County. 

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

“Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common and also most manageable diseases, yet nearly half of thosewith diabetes cannot afford their medication or testing supplies,” CarePoint CEO Dr. Natasha Deckmann said in a statement.

“Onduo’s groundbreaking approach to diabetes management not only makes care easier for the patient, but also leverages data and technology to improves results, lower costs and enhance quality of life, and will be the first such partnership for Onduo with a New Jersey
hospital system.”

In Hudson County, nearly 10 percent of adults are living with diabetes, and statewide approximately 862,000 people have diabetes, CarePoint said.

Onduo provides a 12-month behavior-change program and access to its virtual clinic and members receive tools such as an at-home A1c kit, test strips and a blood glucose monitoring device that reads glucose levels and tracks the data in the Onduo app.

Some members also get access to a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which is the latest technology in glucose monitoring. The Onduo app provides users a picture of what their sugar levels do throughout the day as it relates to diet, activities and medication.

Onduo’s care team – made up of diabetes professionals such as dieticians, diabetes educators and physicians – can simultaneously analyze the data and offer guidance and support to the user regarding diet, activity, and more.

“We’re thrilled to be working with CarePoint to bring Onduo to people with diabetes in Hudson County,” added Onduo CEO Dr. Josh Riff. “We’re here and ready to help people get started on our program.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of 2015, 30.3 million people in the United States, or 9.4 percent of the population, had diabetes.

More than 1 in 4 of them had the disease but did not know it. While the disease impacts millions of people, it is manageable and if diagnosed while in the pre-diabetes stage, the condition can be reversible.