Telemedicine and ehealth to empower patients with diabetes mellitus, fostering and enhancing the results of a functional diet

摘要

Functional food is considered to be effective in promoting health and wellbeing. Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus strongly depend on diet to achieve better glycaemic control and to reduce the burden of the disease. However, adherence to a controlled diet and to proper monitoring of the disease may be challenging for the patients and their family. The use of electronic devices and software together with the implementation of a tailored telemedicine model can help to overcome some of the issues related to the management of this complex disease. To better understand how a telemedicine system can be useful in empowering patients with diabetes so as to enhance the effects of a therapeutic diet, we propose a research protocol as part of the Diabete Calabria 2.0 project, aimed to study a working model in a real-life setting.