Duh
“A 2015 study of Humana associates enrolled in Go365, the company’s rewards program, found that members who were actively engaged over three years had lower average claim costs and absenteeism rates. Since the companies partnered in 2013, members have used their health rewards points to redeem more than 170,000 Fitbit devices, the companies said.”
This quote comes from a story posted on the FireceBiotech web site and is just further evidence of what we’ve been saying for years, incentivizes and better outcomes go together like peanut and jelly. Yet as we also say often most of the companies in our wacky world are pretty good at screwing up something as simple as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
The story also states;
“With a user’s consent, the Fitbit Care program will provide their real-time health data to care teams for more personalized recommendations, including guided workouts and motivations to make more healthy decisions as well as other interventions.
Coaches will be able to work with participants and providers through the new Fitbit Plus app, as well as over the phone and in person. The app will also support integration of health metrics including blood glucose, blood pressure and medication adherence, as well as data from third-party devices, the company said.”
Hey, guess what CGM works with FitBit, yep Dexcom which is just one more reason Dexcom has a more lucrative future than the Libre. Now we’re sure at some point Abbott will read the memo that states a cheaper price will only take the Libre so far. That it’s about time the Libre became a real CGM and added some connectivity.
We have always found it funny that Abbott’s own studies show that the more frequently a Libre user waves the magic wand they achieve better outcomes. REALLY YA THINK. Yet for reasons only Abbott knows they have yet to add any connectivity to the Libre. What’s even wackier here is that according to our experts this is a simple thing to do and even crazier not expensive either. Yet a Libre user must still wave that magic wand to capture a reading.
Seriously at some point one would think that Abbott would wake up and understand getting the damn data is just the first step in the process. That patients and their healthcare team then need to know what to do with all this damn data. HELLO.
While we have been surprised by the success of the Libre we have always wondered if the Abbott of old would rear its ugly head. That they would do what they done in the past, screw up a very good thing. That the failure of the Navigator would have taught them a valuable lesson. Well my friends based on everything we’re seeing our fears were well founded.
Could it be that Abbott is about to do something unheard of and screw up not just two BGM platforms but also a CGM platform. Could it be that Miles who talks about the Libre as if it’s his child has been so thrilled that they got the Libre to work and doing well in the market has forgotten this is just step one. That if the Libre is to remain competitive it must evolve and grow into a real CGM.
Has he also forgotten in today’s interconnected world where every toy talks with all the other toys, that hey maybe Libre should have this capability as well. That hey maybe just maybe it would have been a good idea to have the Libre communicate with some insulin pumps that are actually on the market. Sure, the Bigfoot deal has promise but Bigfoot is still a year or two away from commercialization and Dexcom has already locked up Tandem and Insulet.
This would not be the first time, nor will it be the last, when a company comes out with an innovative device only to see this once innovative device leapfrogged by another more innovative device. A scenario that could also play out in the closed loop insulin delivery space too – ARE YOU LISTENING MEDTRONIC.
The simple fact is Abbott has made the decision to use price as their primary weapon. While a factor this decision is about to backfire as not only is Dexcom dealing with the price issue, they have more and better partners who are helping the company sell more systems. Now we may not be much smarter than a can of spam, but we do know the more people who help what you make is not a bad thing. That it is better to have Tandem, Insulet, Lilly, Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, Apple and Google helping you out then it is to have Bigfoot as your lone partner. Hey Miles, are listening to this?
We’ll also give Miles more reasons to start stocking up on Pepto Bismol, Medtronic will use price as weapon to get traction for the Guardian Connect. Senseonics has a system on the market and more are coming. CGM is the hottest thing going with everyone and we do mean everyone wanting a piece of the pie.
Each day we see the CGM market following the insulin pump market path with Dexcom playing the role of Medtronic. Like Medtronic in pumps, Dexcom seems to be fending off rivals while growing share. Like Medtronic they have made some mistakes but have quickly corrected these mistakes. Unlike Medtronic and thankfully they have not taken their eye off the prize, they have not ventured into areas where they do not belong. The deals they have made are not done to satisfy an executive’s family but are done to enhance future sales of their core product.
Earlier today we noted how the Libre has led to a stunning turnaround for Abbott. That the Libre has exceeded everyone’s expectations. Yet with all that’s going on or maybe we should say not going on we’re beginning to wonder if the Libre is headed for the bench and about to become a third string quarterback. Do we need to list all the hot rookie QB’s in the NFL who after a great rookie year fizzled out? Dear we remind everyone that no matter what you think of him Tom Brady is a proven winner and first ballot Hall of Famer.
Folks we know you get tired of hearing this and yes, we do get tired of saying it, but any idiot can build these toys it takes real talent to run a commercially successful toy company. And talent is in short supply except in that beautiful city of San Diego.
