Lark Health and Smart Meter combine forces for diabetes management

The partnership will combine Smart Meter's iGlucose meter and Lark's diabetes management program

It's no secret that diabetes is a huge problem in the United States: 37.3 million Americans, or about 1 in 10, have the disease and about 1 in 5 of those people don't know they have it. For adults with diagnosed diabetes, 69% had high blood pressure, 44% had high cholesterol, 39% had chronic kidney disease, and 12% reported having vision impairment or blindness.

Diabetes requires a lot of care management, and now Lark Health, an AI-driven provider for chronic conditions, and Smart Meter, a supplier of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) solutions, have announced a partnership with the goal to of helping health systems to support patients with type 2 diabetes. 

The partnership will combine Lark’s diabetes management program, called Diabetes Care, with Smart Meter's cellular-enabled iGlucose meter.

Smart Meter’s iGlucose meter automatically sends glucose readings to the patient’s physician; now, thanks to this partnership, it will send that data to Lark as well, whose Diabetes Care program tracks medical appointments, A1c tests, kidney disease screenings, eye exams, flu shots, blood pressure tests, and cholesterol tests, while its AI-based digital coaching also tracks medication adherence for patients. 

“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Lark to deliver reliable glucose readings from our high-quality patient devices to Lark’s proven coaching solution,” Casey Pittock, CEO at Smart Meter, said in a statement.

“Health systems will benefit from using this powerful combination of technologies better to manage the care and treatment of patients with Diabetes.”

Founded in 2011, Lark Health is an AI, text message-based counseling platform that acts like a coach in a patient's pocket. It can understand all of the patient's preferences, as well as their biometrics, including the blood pressure, glucometer readings, and weight. The company provides multiple devices to manage a patient's chronic condition and then provides real-time counseling to help the patient manage that entire condition.

In addition to its diabetes platform, Lark also works with patients who need help with hypertension, smoking cessation, weight loss, weight management, as well as preventative care, like sleeping better, eating healthier, or simply getting fitter. 

“While we know regularly tracking blood sugar levels is a critical component of managing Type 2 Diabetes, that data is often siloed and left out of the physician’s purview,” Dr. Lynne Nowak, Chief Medical Officer at Lark Health, said in a statement. 

“The combination of Lark’s engaging AI care coach with the accuracy and RPM technology of Smart Meter’s iGlucose monitor will increase adherence, improve glucose control, and support health systems in delivering efficient, cost-effective care to more patients."

(Image source: smartmeterrpm.com)