Like a hole in the head
It’s been said the definition of insanity is performing the exact same behavior over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Well if that’s true and we think it is our wacky world has lost its mind, which when you think about it isn’t all that shocking or surprising. Yesterday Livongo reported fourth quarter and full year results. OneDrop will likely follow Livongo into the land of being a public traded company. Onduo continues to press ahead with their efforts perhaps soon to drop the 100% at risk bomb.
Let’s not forget about My Dario, Steady Health and yep Nemaura Medical who according to a post on the MassDevice web site;
“Nemaura Medical (NSDQ:NMRD) announced that it launched its SugarBeat app for continuous glucose monitoring on Android devices in the Play Store as it prepares to debut a subscription-based service.”
Now we have no idea how many of these patient coaching subscription services exist as they seem to be growing like weeds. What we do know is we need another disease management wannabee about as much as we need a hole in the head. Yet this insanity is not limited to whiz bang way cool coaching platforms. Nope the other day we read, and we apologize as we can’t remember where we read it so again apologies to the source, there are 39 yes 39 companies attempting to enter the CGM market.
But why stop there as there are at least a dozen companies, likely more than that, with a connected insulin pen or connected insulin pen cap cover. Throw in the growing number of OmniPod wannabes and we might as well do a collective happy dance.
We hate to rain on anyone’s parade but here are some of those pesky facts that no one seems to care about but are very relevant.
1. Yes diabetes continues to grow at epidemic rates.
2. Yes, the vast majority of patients are not achieving good outcomes.
3. Unlike what this recent group of companies want you to believe this is a situation that has existed for years and so far, no one and YES, we mean no one has changed that.
4. That with all the money spent on whiz bang way cool still nearly two thirds of all patients are not achieving good control. There are now studies which back this up which is refreshing but also telling us what we already knew.
5. These new whiz bang way cool coaching companies that use whiz bang way cool artificial intelligence (AI) combined with text messages to help the patient are merely disease management companies reinvented using new technology. Disease management did not work back then and will not work just because the patient is getting a text message on their smartphone instead of a call on a landline.
Perhaps this is why Livongo and their brethren use more fancy sounding words and creative accounting methods then a politician explaining how they will pay for all these FREE programs they say voters want. One day someone will have to explain to us who is going to pay for FREE college tuition, FREE health care and FREE bottles of wine. Yep its sure sounds great to say the “rich” will pay through increased taxes until you consider how these people define exactly what “rich’ is.
Now we aren’t sure what a planet these people live on, but we do know this we do not need more whiz bang way cool technology in diabetes. What we need after years of failures is a new approach not more of the same that didn’t work the first time around.
As Momma Kliff said many times we need yet another reinvented platform that didn’t work the first time around like we need a hole in the head. It’s time for the insanity to end.
