Information technology in the service of diabetes prevention and treatment

In the year since the first ATTD yearbook was published the field of internet and cell phone interventions has made major advances. This chapter contains clinical studies and reviews of the state-of-the-art regarding the ability of technology-enabled self-management education and support to improve outcomes for patients with, or at risk for, diabetes. The reviews and papers in this chapter demonstrate increased understanding of the underlying basis for effective interventions - a prerequisite for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of these approaches. The research studies described demonstrate that internet interventions are effective for a variety of patients and for specific outcomes (e.g. diabetes self-management for teens as well as older patients, medication adherence, empowerment, psychosocial well-being, helping patients become more active, and helping patients lose weight and keep it off). As additional and more sophisticated studies are completed and the evidence base is expanded one can hope that payors will recognise their value and begin to pay for these treatments. That is what ultimately will bring effective treatments to those who need them. The associate editors' mission was to choose articles that would give the non-technology skilled reader a general overview of the field of information technology and the prevention and treatment of obesity and diabetes. Articles were selected because they either provided a significant review of the state-of the art of the field or were the results from studies that could give the reader a better understand of the benefits and challenges associated with information technology use in clinical settings.