The Health Bank (THB) launches Diabetes Management Program on World Health Day

Following a successful pilot programme earlier this year, The health bank (THB) has announced the launch of Diabetes Connected Care programme. The programme, available to all individuals in the UAE living with a Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis, supports the day-to-day management of diabetes, and related complications.

Combining innovation with personalised care, the programme follows the International Diabetes Federation guidelines, using state-of-the-art technology including Continuous Glucose Monitor by Medtronic and smart glucometer by iHealth and Contour.

Zarmina Jafar, THB Co-founder and Strategy Director, said: “Quite often, a diagnosis of diabetes can be overwhelming, and the issue can be compounded when tasked to adhere to a care plan and manage a busy lifestyle. Lack of knowledge, understanding and motivation can greatly affect how well the condition is managed and can increase the severity and reduce the overall quality of life. By combining personalised care and using innovative remote monitoring devices, we aim to effectively manage diabetes, and prevent complication”.

The Connected Care programme manages individuals at every stage of diabetes and, in some cases, programme intervention can delay the progression of the disease if the patient successfully engages during prediabetic or early-stage diabetes.  

THB also offers lifestyle management programs that encourage a healthy and proactive lifestyle. This involves monitoring health data, assessing nutritional advice and accessing motivational support. THB Clinicians are ideally placed to recognise the trends and patterns through continuous monitoring and can offer nudges, reminders and alerts as and when needed. 

THB Global aim to roll the programme out across the region to create a meaningful impact on the growing global epidemic of diabetes. The Connected Care programmes complement existing and traditional models of healthcare by combining innovative practices to fill in the gaps and reduce the burden of high treatment costs on the governments.

Part of the programme includes motivating members, quantifying the progress and engagement, to which THB has created a 5-Star rating system unique to the program. The system is based on monitoring progress against targets and evaluating the level of engagement.

Commenting on the motivational technique, Zarmina Jafar added: “We believe it is not only important for progress to be quantified but for engagement and efforts to be recognized and celebrated. The information gathered as part of the programme greatly supports the specialists and physicians, enabling them to have a full 360 insight into the patient lifestyle outside of the clinical environment. Building this individual, comprehensive picture is the start of a lifelong approach to prioritizing good health.”

The onboarding process to the Connected Care programme includes a health assessment and review of family medical history, during which, patients will be asked about their preferred monitoring device as well as their targets and goals.