Prof. S Yunkap Kwankam, CEO of Global eHealth Consultants, and Prof. Michael Miller, CEO of the Care Innovation Corporation, show that diabetes and other non-communicable diseases can best be alleviated and controlled through a digital healthcare model, and introduce the Virtual Chronic Care Continuum (VC3).
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. The disease is a major challenge globally. But it is only one of a cohort of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) wreaking havoc on national health budgets.
The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the cost of managing chronic diseases will be 80 per cent of total healthcare expenditure across the world by 2020 (WHO Global Status Report on Non-Communicable Diseases 2010, http://www.who.int). For the first time in human history, more people will die from preventable disease rather than contagious diseases, making NCDs a current major battleground in global health.
A major health challenge
In looking at the burden of diabetes and other chronic diseases in general in Commonwealth countries, we focus on Australia, Singapore and the UK, as examples that illustrate this burden and its financial impact. We argue that, as with all aspects of health management, and indeed all areas of human development, judicious and appropriate use of information and communication technology (ICT) holds the key. Thus, digital health is the inevitable future of health in the Commonwealth and elsewhere…
Prof. S Yunkap Kwankam and Prof. Michael Miller
CEO of Global eHealth Consultants and CEO of the Care Innovation Corporation
