The American Diabetes Association (ADA) Maryland Chapter and WellDoc®, a health care behavioral science and technology company, have announced the launch of a collaboration to empower people in Maryland with type 2 diabetes to take control of their diabetes by improving their day-to-day self-management. This announcement marks the beginning of the collaboration between WellDoc and ADA, with many activities to come throughout 2014 and 2015.
"The ADA is the premiere resource for the latest news and information about diabetes," explained Kevin McRaith, President of WellDoc. "As we begin interacting with Maryland patients through the ADA, we look forward to a long-term engagement at the regional and national level as we commercialize a new category of prescribed therapy."
WellDoc developed BlueStar®, the first-of-its-kind Mobile Prescription Therapy cleared by the FDA and available only by prescription. BlueStar provides patients real-time guidance to improve their diabetes self-management, as well as, clinical decision support to help their doctor optimize their diabetes treatment plan. BlueStar provides personalized healthcare advice that other products cannot provide without the supervision of a licensed healthcare provider.
Further, the National ADA recognizes BlueStar on its website as the first and only in the new class of diabetes treatment known as Mobile Prescription Therapy.
"As an endocrinologist, I'm concerned about this serious and rapidly growing national epidemic. There are 29 million Americans living with diabetes and 1.9 million Americans are newly diagnosed with diabetes every year," said WellDoc founder and chief medical officer Suzanne Sysko Clough, M.D. "We are thrilled with the response we are hearing from both health care providers and their patients about BlueStar."
At the state level, WellDoc will interact directly with Maryland residents and provide them with educational resources about type 2 diabetes. WellDoc's educational booth will appear at the Baltimore Step Out Walk on October 5 and the Frederick Step Out Walk on October 12, and plans are underway to support American Diabetes Month in November.
"In Maryland alone, there are nearly 400,000 people living with diabetes, and we know that managing diabetes can be complex and challenging based on each person's unique situation. One of our goals is to educate patients about the options and medications available to them – including Mobile Prescription Therapy – so that they can work with their doctor to determine their ideal diabetes management program based on their condition and personal preferences," said Kathy Rogers, Executive Director of the ADA Maryland Chapter.
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