The study covered the following countries using meetings with experts in diabetes care, home care and health IT as the primary methodology: Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK and the Netherlands. Two remote monitoring pilot projects were performed in Finland.
The use of smartphones is increasing also among senior citizens. The target group of the remote monitoring solution can be increased by offering a smartphone application as a future alternative for elderly diabetics who have reasonable IT skills.
For growing the business internationally, it will be essential to find partners that offer complementary IT solutions for the same target market. However, combining a software system with blood glucose testing hardware and single-user test strips represents a challenge that must be addressed in order for the business model and go-to-market strategy to work. The skills required to sell, implement and support software solutions for care providers are very different compared to the skills needed to handle selling and logistics of single use consumables. Therefore, building and managing a network of capable partners will be crucial for the growth and success of the business.