Dive Brief:

• Diabetes is a major health issue among Americans. With that in mind, the Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH) is offering employers a free guide that it calls “a useful entry point” for exploring the use of digital tools in preventing and managing diabetes within workforces.
• The NEBGH guide cites how digital tools can make a difference in addressing chronic diseases in general, and diabetes in particular, through convenience, personalization, data collection and management, customization of rewards and incentives, coaching and social networking. 
• The guide can also help employers determine which digital features are most important in addressing the specific challenges with workplace diabetes programs, and serve as a starting point for matching solutions.

Dive Insight:

Laurel Pickering, executive director of NEBGH, said employers are keenly interested in exploring new digital tools that could help improve the effectiveness of their workplace diabetes interventions, but often feel overwhelmed by the sheer number and diversity of them. 

The guide breaks down 25 diabetes tools into six primary capabilities: group-based health course with live coaches, integrated glucometer with enhanced communication, scripted algorithm-driven coaching, device data download and display, provider-based care management platform and individualized live coaching.

It also offers a checklist to specific features, and indicates which tools may offer the most opportunities for increasing engagement – a key challenge for employers in designing workplace diabetes interventions.