Well - how sinister is it exactly?
So my DSN looks at my last input - let's say a BG reading of 23.8. Nothing in the pump or meter to say it's because I just ate a a packet of Jaffa cakes or alternatively was involved in a car crash.
So how is she going to use that info?
When my meter (which is also the remote for the pump and contains the bolus wizard etc) tells me I'm hypo it flashes up the reading then shuts that and tells me to grab carbohydrates (12g worth) and then returns to the screen where it expects me to tell it what carbs I am having. I don't, by then I'm usually drinking my Lucozade. No meter is going to make me stop when I'm hypo, before treating it! Now I'm quite well behaved really and I do usually go back in after and tell it I've had whatever but that requires me to remember to do that thing. Sometimes, I forget and don't. It beeps like mad after another 15 minutes to tell me to test again, whether I've told it the carbs or not ......
OK so if I am hypo (or high) at 11am every day for a fortnight and there is no evidence I've done anything to stop it - eg changes of basal rates or TBRs - then I would expect Questions to be Asked. And if it's because I'm too lazy to be bothered, then a kick up the arse by phone wouldn't be a bad idea.
But for a HCP to actually control my BG remotely from 'odd' meter readings I've taken - is ridiculous.
So we need to know HOW HCPs will USE the info they glean before we start jumping to conclusions about Big Brother ......
IMHO, anyway!
FWIW, Dundee have also been involved in another foray with telehealth - I heard summat about this 12 months ago, but have no info on how it went or whatever. One of the probs with any health thing in Scotland is the sheer remoteness of some (a lot) of patients from 'centres of excellence' so I think the trial will be interesting to say the least - one centre where they are close to their customers (Addenbrookes) and one where they (potentially) aren't close.
I also have to remember that not all T1's are blessed with the intelligence and/or personal inner resources to be able to cope with the intricacies of pumping - hence why most hospitals won't let 'just anyone who apparently meets the Guidelines' have a pump in the first place. This might be a way of helping them. It could help parents of diabetic children too - especially in the early days where although there is close contact with DSNs etc, if the DSN already had the (downloaded) info in front of her when discussing with parents, it could save a lot of time, apart from the comfort value when they are feeling their feet, don't you think?
We'll see, won't we?
