There is no doubt that technology and innovation continues to have a large impact on diabetes care and continues to offer solutions that are transformative in the way self management has occurred in the past. With the growing adoption of e-Health solutions and government support of IT advances, there is a real potential for accelerated change in diabetes healthcare and opportunities to overcome barriers of the past.

Research on this area has increasingly supported e-health as a valuable tool for enhancing care quality in chronic disease management. For patients, e-health can translate to fewer clinic and emergency visits, reduced episodes and duration of hospitalizations, decreased patient travel time and expense and increased service access particularly for the aged population, people with a disability and those living in rural areas.

For clinicians, e-health can translate into more informed decision making, enhanced patient compliance, more efficient and expanded outreach services and flexible work arrangements. The Government has recognized the substantial benefits of e-health and has provided Medicare incentive payments to encourage prompt uptake of the available technology by health care professionals.

A recent study by Deloitte Consulting indicated that for every dollar invested in e-Health in Australia, there will be a return on investment of more than 2 dollars. Evidence of clinical and business success in this innovative form of care is strong, suggesting that it may be one of the only economically viable ways to manage an aging population with an increasing prevalence of chronic disease within the constraints of existing health care funding and resourcing.

However, the change poses challenges on the traditional models of service delivery and demands the industry evolve to meet the varying needs and interactions with its patient base. To not only survive, but to thrive, we need to not just understand but master and integrate  e-Health solutions and progressive technologies into the deployment of services and do this in a way that directly draws on patient perspectives, needs and outcomes.

We need to acknowledge that technology is continuously evolving and ubiquitous. As such our ability to adapt to change is a critical factor for success. Our goal must be to manage this technology effectively and to ensure it enhances our personal and professional experiences.