Information technology in clinical diabetes care--a look to the future

In the last Diabetes Information Technology & WebWatch column (Diabetes Technol Ther 2004;6:422-429) various hurdles to the implementation of computerised decision-support tools in clinical diabetes care were highlighted. In this column a look is made to the future, considering ways in which information technology tools may be applied in diabetes clinics, and elsewhere, in years to come. Particular attention is focused on discussion of the ways in which existing technologies are likely to become better integrated--in the short to medium term--to provide benefits to people with diabetes, their relatives, and carers.