MyCareTeam now available via the ADA
I recently came across MyCareTeam, a web-based diabetes management product. Based on the quicktour screenshots that they've posted online it certainly seems like an interesting product.And as of today it's available from the American Diabetes Association for $12.99 per month, or $9.99 if you purchase a one-year subscription ($119.98). With the one-year subscription they'll also provide a free data cable for the meters that they support. Or you can buy the cable for $40. Based on the screenshot below, that's quite a long list of meters.
It certainly seems as if this product has some useful features. Here's another screenshot from the quick tour that shows the log screen from MyCareTeam.
As you can see, all my information about MyCareTeam is based on screenshots from their Quick Tour. That's one of the things that bothers me about this software. Why would I spend at least $12.99 to try it out and decide how useful it is?
For me, it makes more sense to have a 30-day free trial (with the option to purchase the download cable) and then see whether it's actually worth $100+ a year to me. After all there are already many free web-based diabetes tracking systems (Sugarstats.com, SweetSpot.dm, and others). And these are both useable and useful.
I see the benefit to both the ADA and MyCareTeam to charge for the product. It'll allow them to enhance the product and raise some funds for ADA. But I also understand web software a lot and I think that you need to let people try this software out first, before they'll commit to spending money to use it.
Do let me know what you think about this model. Have any of you used MyCareTeam? Did it seem like good value to you? Do you have any privacy concerns about using this or other web-based tracking software?
Labels: diabetes, mycareteam, software, web
posted by Bernard @ 8:55 AM
9 Comments:
I have to say first of all I'm all for any new tools, utilities and resources for better diabetes management. I think we're all out here to do the same thing and that is improve peoples diabetic health.
As for MyCareTeam and my personal opinions on them, features wise I think they have very useful features. Especially the meter uploading, though I think SweetSpot has a better, more integrated solution. This is an area we're working on now to strengthen, the direct from the meter to the web service is the best way to go IMHO.
I just can't get pass the UI, but of course you all know I'm bias :-P
It doesn't look like something I'd use everyday. If you can get past the looks then it could be a useful tool. But of course I will never know without paying $12.99 a month to try it out.
As for the cost with no trial, yeah I'm not sure what they were thinking there :-X We're currently still playing around with pricing options but are also somewhat guilty of not having a trial (for our premium plan anyway, something we're working on).
As with anything, I think in the end it will be about the value proposition to the consumer. Do people find it is something worth paying for. That is the main question we're constantly asking ourselves with SugarStats. It can be a hard line to balance, but were out to find that perfect balance.
Funny thought I've never heard of them before today, I'd love to meet them someday though. The management team looks to be top-notch (so to speak). I guess we will see in time.
The software looks a lot like the One Touch software which I got for free at a TCOYD conference (plus the cable). I would not pay $13/month for anything like that, especially since I doubt anybody on my "care team" would ever look at it. I hardly have time to look at it and I'm the one who cares the most.
I do like sugarstat's feature that uses twitter to allow sms uploading of BG's. Putting my BG's on twitter also lets my "care team" see what's going on; i.e., my brother looks at it and that gives me support in some way.
What I really want is a tool where I push a button or otherwise enter in info in a semi-mindless way and it logs my exercise, food, BG, insulin seamlessly, uploads it online, and lets me see all the information in a really useful way. It would be great if my heart rate information from my Polar monitor could also be integrated. Then, perhaps, I could really start to pull apart the millions of variables that affect my BG's.
I use Keving'slogbook and I think it is really important to be able to note exercise, food changes, stress and illness. I maybe missed this, but I did not see where these could be noted. So even if the Care Team package shows a pattern, for example high values in the afternoon, to understand why this happns you have to have these other factors noted so you can figure out how to make improvements. As I manually write in trest results and other related data I am analyzing what has been going on and this helps me decide how to make improvements. It is kind of like after a while you KNOW that day when you got less exercise you have had higher tests. You KNOW it b/c you have written it so many times. You begin to get hunches that are often correct. So the manual input is NOT wasted time. Don't we who have lived through the days understand it better. Sometimes I look at a day and think all the tests were at OK levels, but that is NOT how I experienced the day. Maybe I was in fact tired all day or thirsty all day. That body sign is telling us something which you do not see in the numbers. It has to be noted. Sometimes we do need help in figuring out how to improve a bad pattern, but why not just send an excel logbook document to the doctor's computer? I am not so sure that doctors have the timme to continually analyze the records of each of his patients? When there is a problem - yes. We do not want to start burdening our doctors with too much info.
Bernard,
I once developed web sites for a living and I agree that a 30 day trial would be an appropriate way for someone to test this online service. Tours are useless in telling me what my experience will be like using a web service on a daily or weekly basis.
What is the value of this service that will make me pay $10 a month to use it versus paying $30-$40 for the desktop software available for my meter?
30 day free trial does sound like a better alternative - it's like the old saying nothing says you won't be staying for more than 1 beer like a $5 cover charge.
I was a beta tester for the My Care Team product. I found it very east to use and the meter uploading of BG readings was fast and efficient. The key word to remember in this product is "Team". It is designed to allow the sharing of your data with your doctor, Diabetes nurse, or other health care provider. The product does allow you to log your lab tests, medications, Blood Pressure readings and exercise records. By sharing all of this data, your "team" can see your progress and get right back to you with feedback and suggestions. Yes, this is predicated on having your medical team's cooperation, and this is one of the reasons the company has teamed up with the ADA on this. Hopefully this will lend it some credibility with the medical community and gain their trust and cooperation.
In the long run, the benifits to using this web application will come when the data that you both control and share, is logged into a secure medical database like the one Microsoft announced last week, "HealthVault", or the one Google is rumored to be developing, or the one Steve Case is developing called "RevolutionHealth". Then your logs and BG data can be accessed from any location with your permission. Can other applications do this? I'm not sure, but they probably will be able to at some point. I think My Care Team may have a lead here, however, and is gaining support from the ADA and the big industry players like Microsoft and Google. Time will tell.
As to the cost, I agree that may be a daunting hurdle for many to overcome. Nobody likes to pay, when you can get it for free or with a one time charge. But there is an upside to paying for the service. I t may make you more likely to stay on top of your readings and, since you have paid good money for it, you might be motivated to stick with it and take it all more seriously. Thsi may not be a factor for some of us who are already motivated, but there are thousands, and perhaps millions of people out there with Diabetes that need any extra push they can get to stay with the program. and if they know their doctor may be taking a peek on a regular basis, well, again, they might just stay on top of things better. This is particularly important with older patients who could also connect their data with relatives who care.
As an early user of the product, I do recommend it and was very pleased with the results.
I was just reading about this today - only as My Diabetes Connector. They've changed the name already?
I think the cost is a serious issue but perhaps more serious, I doubt that the average doctor is going to take the time to review your results online. Perhaps a CDE or someone else on your team would do so.
Anyone know whether this thing will integrate information from the Deltec Cozmo 1800 pump, which uses the Cozmanager/Freestyle meter attachment?
I think all my hair will be grey before a good data management tool supports it!
wow gold cheap wow gold buy wow gold world of warcraft gold wow world of warcraft wow gold WoW Warrior WoW Hunter WoW Rogue WoW Paladin WoW Shaman WoW Priest WoW Mage WoW Druid WoW Warlock power leveling powerleveling wow power leveling wow powerleveling wow guides wow tips food flower google?? google???? google???? ???? ???? ???? ??? ?? LED? ?? ?? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? powerlin518 logo design website design web design ????
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home