The Reference Guide to Integrate Smart Insulin Pens Into Data-Driven Diabetes Care and Education Services

Abstract

Purpose More than 7 million Americans who have diabetes use insulin therapy. The majority continue to use syringes and vials or traditional insulin pens to deliver their insulin doses. Using these tools to deliver insulin presents numerous challenges for both the person with diabetes and their clinicians. This article provides an in-depth introduction to a new category of insulin delivery devices and integrated management systems, referred to as smart insulin pens. The article includes information about how these integrated insulin delivery systems can reduce many of the challenges of rapid-acting insulin dosing via injection by enabling easier and more accurate dose recording, dose calculations, and sharing of diabetes management data with clinicians. This article also discusses new roles for diabetes care and education specialists in diabetes data-driven care and practice and addresses how smart insulin pens represent one of many newer digital diabetes management tools that can assist people with diabetes and their clinicians to optimally achieve and deliver quality, data-driven diabetes care. Conclusions Newer and simplified insulin delivery devices with their integrated management systems, such as smart insulin pens, have the potential to minimize the challenges and complexities associated with insulin injection therapy while also providing people with diabetes and their clinicians more complete and integrated data in easily transmitted reports that support more efficient data analysis.

The Review of Insulin Pens—Past, Present, and Look to the Future

“…It cannot escape the attention that insulin pen injectors may help not only patients but also diabetes care teams. They provide accurate information about missed doses as well as injection times in relation to meals and dose sizes, which is useful in making correct therapeutic decisions and giving personalized treatment plans (121,(130)(131)(132). The first study of clinical outcomes using a smart insulin pen was reported in 2020 (133).…”

Pediatric Smart Insulin Pen Use: The Next Best Thing

“…The importance of data-driven diabetes management has drastically increased due to telemedicine. 2,[42][43][44][45][46][47] The SIP can assist with effective remote review of data captured and potential for pattern management. 2,25,[27][28][29]31,33,38,41 Improved patient satisfaction, QoL, and time-in-range are all indicators of data-driven diabetes management.…”

“…2,[42][43][44][45][46][47] The SIP can assist with effective remote review of data captured and potential for pattern management. 2,25,[27][28][29]31,33,38,41 Improved patient satisfaction, QoL, and time-in-range are all indicators of data-driven diabetes management. 2,9,10,38,41,46,48 Literature on SIP technology demonstrates adults have less missed boluses, 34 positive user experiences 28 and improved clinical outcomes at lower cost 39 however the same has not yet been confirmed in pediatrics.…”

“…2,25,[27][28][29]31,33,38,41 Improved patient satisfaction, QoL, and time-in-range are all indicators of data-driven diabetes management. 2,9,10,38,41,46,48 Literature on SIP technology demonstrates adults have less missed boluses, 34 positive user experiences 28 and improved clinical outcomes at lower cost 39 however the same has not yet been confirmed in pediatrics. The SIP reference guide, while not pediatric specific, reviews SIP data-driven diabetes management 2 and can be a guide for users.…”

“…The vast majority have type 1 diabetes (T1D) and need intensive insulin therapy and education of caregivers. [1][2][3] The remaining are a subset of children with type 2 diabetes (T2D), many which require insulin. 1,3 Insulin dosing calculations use personalized ratios, varying by time of day, for carbohydrates eaten and correction doses for lowering glucose to target range.…”