Diabetes requires constant monitoring, lifestyle adjustments, and education, making it a perfect match for an automated assistant who can help with these tasks.
That’s where AI is starting to step in. AI can’t replace glucose monitoring, meal tracking, and exercise, but it can assist with these tasks and lighten the load for both patients and healthcare providers.
We recently spoke with Miguel Johns, founder of Milton, an AI-driven health coach designed to make diabetes management easier for both patients and healthcare teams. Here’s how AI is transforming diabetes care, empowering healthcare providers like you, and making diabetes management more efficient and personalized.
AI's global potential in diabetes care is huge. AI-driven solutions can improve healthcare accessibility, especially in underserved areas where specialist care may be hard to access. (Predictive analytics, for example, can identify patients at high risk of developing complications, allowing for early interventions that can significantly improve outcomes.)
And as Johns pointed out, AI isn’t just about automating tasks; it’s about freeing up time.
And when tasks like monitoring a patient’s glucose trends and diet are automated, it becomes easier to make room for a few more of the diabetes patients struggling to access care, improving their outcomes as well.
"When I think about diabetes management, there's a massive shortage of specialists. There are only about 8,000 endocrinologists for over 30 million people with diabetes — the numbers just don't add up. AI can augment basic diabetes management, allowing someone without access to a specialist to get support from tools like Milton and still take steps to improve their health. Whether someone is in a rural area, is low-income, or only has a flip phone, AI helps them get the support they need and answer the questions they have."
— Miguel Johns, founder, Milton
AI tools take a lot of the heavy lifting off your shoulders, handling routine tasks like monitoring blood glucose levels and analyzing patient data.
For example, AI can spot trends in a patient’s data that might otherwise go unnoticed, giving the care team a heads-up to intervene before a small issue becomes a big problem. It also helps by providing tailored treatment suggestions, making it easier to adjust care plans to meet each patient’s specific needs.
This means less time spent on paperwork and more time focused on patient care.
For instance, Google’s DeepMind is revolutionizing retinal screening by using AI to detect diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness among people with diabetes. This AI-powered tool can analyze retinal images with a level of accuracy that rivals human specialists, enabling earlier detection and treatment, which can prevent severe complications like vision loss.
Similarly, BlueLoop, an AI-driven app, offers a highly personalized approach to diabetes management by allowing users to log their blood sugar levels, insulin doses, and other important health metrics. The app uses this data to provide tailored recommendations, helping users better manage their condition day-to-day to help prevent the long-term complications associated with diabetes.
Here are some of the ways in which AI supports diabetes management:
AI-Enhanced Decision Support Systems: AI algorithms can analyze huge amounts of patient data to predict health events and suggest timely interventions. Systems like the now-defunct IBM Watson Health, for example, helped healthcare providers identify early signs of complications, enabling proactive care.
Hybrid Closed-Loop Systems (Artificial Pancreas): Tools like Medtronic’s MiniMed 670G use AI to automate insulin delivery, providing a more seamless management experience for patients.
Personalized AI-Driven Coaching: AI platforms like Milton and mySugr offer tailored advice on diet, exercise, and medication, helping patients make informed decisions about their health.
Remote Monitoring and Management: AI tools like Livongo Health enhance remote care by analyzing data from continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and other devices, providing healthcare providers with actionable insights.
Johns said he views the current wave of AI diabetes tools as “App 2,” an improvement on first-generation apps like Uber and MyFitnessPal, which revolutionized the way we perform everyday tasks. This new wave of health management tools goes one step further, folding in natural language processing (think of it like a computer that perfectly understands the way you talk) to make these tasks easier and more accessible to a broader audience.
"We've taken these same processes, these proven use cases like something as simple as booking a place to stay or logging a meal and understanding the calories within it or tracking glucose levels. We're seeing those basic tasks that we've already built apps for in the past just being enhanced and made easier and more accessible to more people, thanks to AI."
— Miguel Johns, founder, Milton
As these technologies continue to evolve, the integration of AI into diabetes care promises to make the management of this chronic condition more efficient, more effective, and more equitable, offering hope for better patient outcomes on a global scale.
"Milton is like having a team of dietitians working around the clock, offering individualized support to each patient. It allows small practices to scale up their services, providing more thorough care without stretching their resources thin."
— Miguel Johns, founder, Milton
To learn more about Milton, visit getmilton.com
Milton’s framework, for example, could be adapted to manage other chronic conditions, offering a comprehensive AI-driven approach to health management. As Johns pointed out, while AI is still far from replacing human providers, it has the potential to significantly enhance the quality and accessibility of care.
Johns said he envisions a future where AI does more than just assist with basic health management—it becomes a powerful tool for connecting people to the resources they need to truly manage their health:
“We’re not there yet,” Johns said. “But that’s what I see. That’s where we’re really going to start to make an impact.”
AI is undeniably transforming diabetes management. It’s offering new tools and approaches that make care more personalized, efficient, and accessible. As AI continues to evolve, its role in healthcare will only grow, offering new opportunities to improve patient outcomes and streamline care processes; it’s paving the way for a future where healthcare is more connected, informed, and responsive to the needs of each individual patient.
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