Integration of diabetes data within Epic's electronic health records by Abbott completed
In a significant move towards streamlined diabetes management, Abbott, a leading healthcare company, is expanding the integration of its FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) with electronic health record (EHR) systems. The company is primarily achieving this through partnerships and leveraging interoperability standards such as SMART on FHIR and HL7.
A key example of this integration can be seen in Abbott's collaboration with Epic, a major EHR provider. This partnership ensures that real-time glucose data from the FreeStyle Libre CGMs is seamlessly included in clinicians’ EHR workflows, making it easier for healthcare providers to access comprehensive patient data, including glucose levels, medication logs, activity, and diet, all within the existing EHR interface.
This integration employs secure, HIPAA-compliant data exchange methods to provide a unified view of diabetes management data. The aim is to improve both patient outcomes and clinician satisfaction by enabling quicker, data-driven decisions. This is particularly important as care teams for diabetes management are strained, and efficient data access can help alleviate clinical workload and burnout.
Looking ahead, Abbott is advancing towards broader connected care ecosystems by expanding integration beyond CGMs to other medical devices and platforms. For instance, the company is pursuing development and partnerships involving AI-powered cardiovascular and diagnostic devices, as well as bio-wearable sensors aimed at proactive health and performance management.
Abbott is also emphasizing seamless data sharing with telehealth platforms for remote monitoring and personalized care, mobile applications for real-time alerts, and ongoing efforts to make CGM technology more affordable and accessible.
Notably, Abbott’s strategic AI initiatives include personalized insulin dosing using FreeStyle Libre data integrated with Bigfoot Unity and predictive analytics tied to cardiovascular diagnostics. These efforts indicate a roadmap where CGM data and other physiological signals will be incorporated into more comprehensive, AI-driven connected health platforms to improve preventive care and chronic disease management.
With approximately 6 million people globally using Freestyle Libre CGM systems, according to Abbott, this strategic move towards integrated, AI-enabled medical device platforms is set to revolutionize diabetes management and beyond. The integration with Epic's EHR systems in the U.S. will serve 280 million patients and enable more than 575,000 U.S. healthcare providers to view glucose data, making it easier for patients to collaborate with their providers.
As the competition between Abbott and Dexcom, another medtech company specializing in CGMs, heats up, we can expect to see more innovative integrations, such as connecting CGMs to insulin pumps, in the future. The ultimate goal is to make diabetes management more efficient, effective, and accessible for all.
- Abbott aims to improve healthcare by integrating its FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) with electronic health record (EHR) systems, like Epic, leveraging interoperability standards.
- The partnership with Epic ensures that real-time glucose data from the FreeStyle Libre CGMs is seamlessly incorporated into clinicians’ EHR workflows, providing a comprehensive view of patient data.
- Abbott is expanding integration beyond CGMs to other medical devices, incorporating AI-powered cardiovascular and diagnostic devices, bio-wearable sensors, and telehealth platforms for remote monitoring.
- Abbott's strategic AI initiatives include personalized insulin dosing using FreeStyle Libre data, predictive analytics tied to cardiovascular diagnostics, and making CGM technology more affordable and accessible.
- With approximately 6 million people using Freestyle Libre CGM systems worldwide, the strategic move towards integrated, AI-enabled medical device platforms could revolutionize not only diabetes management but also healthcare in general.
- The competition between Abbott and Dexcom, another medtech company specializing in CGMs, might lead to more innovative integrations, such as connecting CGMs to insulin pumps, in the future.
- The ultimate goal is to make diabetes management more efficient, effective, and accessible for all, contributing to the overall health-and-wellness and medical-conditions of patients through the integration of devices, AI, and nutrition.
