How Glooko is Transforming Diabetes Management

It’s no secret that humans are living longer, on average. The World Health Organization reports average global life expectancy has increased by 5.5 years since 2000 but as the population ages, the world is also seeing an upswing in chronic health problems and a decline in the number of working-age people to treat them. In the U.S., for example, senior citizens will outnumber children by 2035.

Fortunately, advances in technology, including artificial intelligence, data gathering and analysis as well as digital devices are providing the tools needed to address the healthcare challenges that come with serving an aged population. This is why Samsung NEXT portfolio company, Glooko, is at the forefront of being part of the solution for 30 million people afflicted with diabetes.

The data solution

As shown in the End of the Beginning video on digital health, Glooko, a diabetes management startup based in Silicon Valley, uses preventative tech to help close the gap between an aging population managing diabetes, and a growing shortage of people to treat them.

“Diabetes is a really complex disease,” explained David Conn, Glooko Chief Commercial Officer. “There’s a number of devices that people might use to help them manage that disease – glucose monitors, insulin pumps, medications, food and exercise – all these things have an impact on how well your glucose is being managed.”

Glooko’s data management platform enables patients to upload all of that data into the company’s diasend® platform so patients and their health care providers can see the data all in one place, assess a holistic picture of the patient and better manage the illness.

Glooko’s data management platform enables patients to upload all of their health data into the company’s diasend® platform so patients and health care providers can see the data all in one place.

According to Conn, clinics the company works with say Glooko is a significant time saver for them because they don’t have to troubleshoot which device works with a particular software and Glooko acts as a universal connector of the data.

From sick-care to preventative care

Samsung NEXT, an innovation group within Samsung, invested in Glooko because it saw the potential of using smart data collection and artificial intelligence as a way to better manage diabetes.

By continuously tracking patient glucose levels, Glooko leverages data to its fullest extent and empowers patients by helping them to make smarter health decisions in real-time. That allows patients and health care providers to detect problems earlier and avoid reoccurrence.

An example of how clinics view patient data with the help of Glooko’s data management platform.

Using data as a preventative tool shift healthcare from a reactive to a proactive model. In other words, data can help provide that ounce of prevention that’s more effective—and less costly—than treatment for a more serious health event. The continuous collection of health data will soon transform healthcare from what “sick care” into preventative care.

Looking to the future

Glooko is just one digital health startup creating data-driven preventative technologies that will give consumers the power to more closely manage their own health, and could ultimately help the global population not only live longer but also healthier, happier, and more productive lives.

With more than 11 billion data points in the diabetes space, Conn is already looking beyond what Glooko can do for its patients on an individual level to how it can help the population afflicted by diabetes and their care providers on a broader scale. “We want to be that platform that everyone can rely on as an industry standard,” Conn said.

Explore more trends in digital healthcare by watching the End of the Beginning video series.