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Three primary care organisations set to become early adopters of the Low Carb Program after winning Ascensia’s Type 2 Diabetes Remission Accelerator

22^nd July 2019

Three primary care organisations have today been announced as joint winners of a competition to enable healthcare professionals  to offer free access to an award-winning behaviour change platform, the Low Carb Program, for a select group of their patients living with Type 2 diabetes.

The organisations were named as: Frome Medical Practice (on behalf of Your Health & Wellbeing collaboration of three Primary Care Networks) in Frome, Somerset; Park Medical Centre in London and Freshwell Health Centre in Braintree, Essex.

Ascensia Diabetes Care launched the competition during Diabetes Week, aimed at NHS organisations such as NHS trusts, Clinical Commissioning Groups and NHS medical practices across the UK. The competition, named Type 2 Diabetes Remission Accelerator, Powered by the Low Carb Program, offered the chance for these organisations to win free licenses to the Low Carb Program – the award-winning patient-centred diabetes behaviour change platform used by over 400,000 people worldwide. Now, 200 patients from the three successful NHS organisations will be given access to the programme through their GP practice.  

The award entries were judged by a panel including Dr David Unwin, the RCGP National Champion for Collaborative Care and Support Planning in Obesity & Diabetes, and RCGP Clinical Expert in diabetes and Philip Newland-Jones, Consultant Pharmacist Diabetes and Endocrinology at the University of Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.  Speaking on behalf of the judges, Dr Unwin said: “We were all so very impressed by the thought which had gone into the three winning applications.  They showed us clearly what impact the Program would have on improving both their clinical practice and their patients' lives, so we are delighted to award them the licences. The winning entries explained how they would effectively engage stakeholders and they all had a clear plan for getting started straightaway with patient recruitment. We could see they are keen to get going immediately.”

Ros Barker, Ascensia Diabetes Care Country Head UK and Ireland said: “Ascensia congratulates all the winners for their strong applications to the competition. We are excited to be working with them on this accelerator to offer the programme to their patients with Type 2 diabetes for free. We look forward to seeing the difference it can make to the care they provide for people with Type 2 diabetes and sharing their experiences as early adopters of the programme.  The Low Carb Program can revolutionise our approach to supporting people with Type 2 diabetes, giving them the possibility of putting their condition into remission.  We’d also like to thank everyone else who entered the competition and hope they will get the opportunity to use the Low Carb Program themselves with their patients with Type 2 diabetes.”

The Low Carb Program was developed by Diabetes Digital Media (DDM) in collaboration with Dr David Unwin and 20,000 patients with Type 2 diabetes. It has peer-reviewed outcomes, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JIMR) Diabetes. Outcomes at year one include an average weight loss of 7.4kg; 39% of members completing the programme reduce their HbA1c below the Type 2 diabetes threshold and 1 in 4 place their Type 2 Diabetes into remission², saving the NHS on average £835³ per patient, per year, in reduced medication costs. The Low Carb Program is QISMET approved for NHS commissioning and included in the NHS App Library. It is also certified as a MHRA Grade 1 Medical Device and has a CE Mark in compliance with EU regulations.

The Low Carb Program facilitates sustainable weight loss and blood glucose control through structured education, resources and most importantly, personalised behaviour change support for people living with Type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes and obesity.  In just under three months, most people with Type 2 diabetes who complete the programme improve their blood glucose control whilst reducing or eliminating prescription medication and losing weight¹.  After one year, data show that 26% of patients with Type 2 diabetes are in remission².

References:

1. Referral data and completion data from Wincanton Health Service, Wincanton, Somerset, 2018
2. Saslow L. et al. “Outcomes of a Digitally Delivered Low-Carbohydrate Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management Program: 1-year results of a Single-Arm Longitudinal Study.” JMIR Diabetes 2018; 3(3):e12.
3. Data on File, Diabetes Digital Media, 2018