Mobile Application to Enhance Diabetic Care

Prospective study to evaluate whether or not an internet application to coordinate and record diabetes management by the 1. diabetic patient/family caregiver 2. diabetic medical care team and 3. ophthalmology vision care team will decrease vision loss and blindness due to diabetic retinopathy. The aims will be measured through health psychology instruments to assess the effect of the application on management, motivation to control their disease, and commitment to comply with treatment. We will also measure objective health outcomes including Blood Pressure, Blood lipids level, hemoglobin A1c level, and Visual Acuity.

This community-based study will involve the participation of healthcare professionals and physicians who are already treating the patient. Support and adequate training of the mobile application and the research protocol will be provided by the Study Coordinator. The patient/family caregiver be asked to check their vision at home via their mobile application at regularly scheduled intervals as determined by their ophthalmologist. Patients will be expected to review postings of their visual acuity and office visits at a minimum of once a month intervals. A staff member from the physician's office will post pertinent data from each office visit using a template. The ophthalmology template will include visual acuity, intraocular pressure, treatments given (if any), and uploaded retinal images. The non-ophthalmology physicians will post their office visit data in a free-form text box. Data entry can be performed by office staff and does not have to be done by a physician. Physicians will have access to view visual acuity records and physician postings from their own patients. The research coordinator will collect health psychology data by administering validated health psychology questionnaires to assess patient depression, knowledge regarding diabetes and complications of diabetes, motivation to carry out diabetes care, reaction to increased knowledge of specific tests for diabetes and diabetic complications, and quality of life at 4-month intervals throughout the Clinical Trial.