[Technology and diabetes: lights and shadows.]

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Endocrinology
• Medical Informatics

Background:

• Diabetes technology, including continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), aids in managing blood glucose levels and reducing complications.
• The rapid evolution of diabetes technology presents implementation challenges for patients and healthcare providers.
• Continuous availability of glycemic data from CGM can negatively impact patient quality of life due to data overload and alarm fatigue.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the role of narrative medicine in mitigating the negative impacts of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data on patients with diabetes.
• To highlight how narrative medicine can improve the quality of life for individuals using diabetes technology.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on diabetes technology, specifically continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).
• Exploration of the principles and application of narrative medicine in healthcare.
• Analysis of the potential benefits of integrating narrative medicine with diabetes technology management.

Main Results:

• Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) provides extensive data that can lead to patient stress and data overload.
• Narrative medicine offers a framework to interpret patient experiences within the context of their illness.
• The integration of narrative medicine can foster a stronger biopsychosocial connection, improving patient care and outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology, while beneficial, requires complementary approaches to address patient well-being.
• Narrative medicine can enhance the patient experience with diabetes technology by focusing on individual stories and the biopsychosocial dimensions of diabetes.
• Adopting narrative medicine principles can lead to improved quality of life and better health outcomes for people with diabetes.