Telcare Continues Momentum and Shines Spotlight on Diabetes Education and Prevention in Honor of National Diabetes Awareness Month

BETHESDA, MD--(Marketwired - Nov 11, 2015) - Telcare, the provider of the world's first cellular-enabled blood glucometer, diabetes mobile application, and comprehensive HIPAA compliant cloud platform, is raising awareness of diabetes in honor of National Diabetes Awareness Month. A recent Telcare survey of consumers revealed that 28 percent of Americans plan to raise awareness of diabetes during the month-long campaign that is led by the American Diabetes Association every November. Telcare's survey also found that 45% know someone living with diabetes today. To assist with regular monitoring and diabetes management for those currently living with the disease, Telcare participated in a joint study with Glytec, a provider of glucose management software solutions and is announcing a new partnership with the Validic digital health platform.

Focus on Prevention with National Diabetes Awareness Month
Recent estimates project that as many as 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes by 2050 unless steps are taken now to spread awareness of the disease. In honor of National Diabetes Awareness Month, 70% of Americans say they plan to spread awareness by posting or sharing about the disease on social media, while 58% will participate in a walk or a community event.

Americans are also eager to become educated about diabetes symptoms and prevention. Seventy percent of Americans believe increased thirst is an early warning sign of Type 2 diabetes, and more than half of Americans (51%) would like to learn more about diet and nutrition to lead healthier lives, while exercise (20%), blood glucose monitoring (17%) and medication (9%) were also top areas of interest.

"The best way we can prevent diabetes is through education and spreading awareness of the disease," Hardin explains. "With 86 million Americans at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, simple lifestyle changes like regular monitoring, exercise and eating correctly need to be made to make a big impact and improve overall diabetes outcomes."

Telcare Takes Strides to Ensure Monitoring Matters with Patients
Recently, Telcare participated in a study with Glytec, a provider of innovative glucose management software solutions, to assist patients in an efficacy study that found 90% of participants reached target glucose levels within three weeks and achieved an average A1C reduction of 3%. Participants in the study were able to effectively and instantly share their data with their physicians by using the Telcare meter and cloud. Due to the data feed, the physician offices were able to then send the daily dose recommendations through a phone call or text message to patients. Since monitoring plays a large role in the management of diabetes, Telcare has joined the Validic digital health ecosystem to continue connecting healthcare organizations to data generated by patients living with diabetes. Healthcare continues to be consumer-driven and patient-centric, and it's becoming increasingly important for data to flow from physicians to patients; this new partnership with Validic makes this possible.

Children, Diabetes & Physical Activity: What Parents Need to Know
The American Diabetes Association reports that nearly 30 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes. Telcare's data indicates that 10% of respondents have a child living with the disease. When it comes to keeping kids physically active to better manage symptoms associated diabetes, parents ranked organized team sports (45%) as the No. 1 way to help kids better live with diabetes, followed by recess or physical education at school (34%). Exercise and physical activity can help control blood glucose in children living with diabetes, but parents need to understand what symptoms to watch out for if their children are overexerting themselves. The majority of parents believe the symptoms associated with low blood sugar that you should watch out for when or after your child exercises are fatigue (53%), followed by trembling (45%) and hunger (44%).

"Since exercise increases sensitivity to insulin, risk for a low after exercise increases," said Kelly Lee Hardin, clinical services manager at Telcare. "To prevent this during and after exercise, consider talking with your child about the side effects and what they should do if the situation ever arises. Help your child get in the habit of regularly monitoring their blood glucose before exercise or determining with their healthcare provider if they should change insulin doses with physical activity."

About Telcare Survey
The Telcare-SurveyMonkey survey was conducted online among a national sample of 1,036 adults ages 18 and over. Results have an estimated margin of error of +/- 2.96.

About Telcare
Telcare is a leading healthcare technology company with a transformative vision: to interconnect all aspects of the diabetes healthcare ecosystem -- patients, family members, providers and insurers -- through vital data to ensure superior, timely interventions to improve patient care and lower overall healthcare costs. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Telcare is a privately held company funded by Norwest Venture Partners, The Qualcomm Life Fund, Sequoia Capital, Mosaic Health Solutions and other founding investors. For more information, visit www.telcare.com.