Three primary care organizations win Ascensia’s Type 2 Diabetes Remission Accelerator competition

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

The organizations 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 organizations 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 organizations to win free licenses to the Low Carb Program – the award-winning patient-centered diabetes behavior change platform used by over 400,000 people worldwide. Now, 200 patients from the three successful NHS organizations will be given access to the program 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 licenses. The winning entries explained how they would effectively engage stakeholders and they all had a clear plan for getting started straight away 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 program 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 program.  The Low Carb Program can revolutionize 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 7.4 kg; 39% of members completing the program reduce their HbA1c below the Type 2 diabetes threshold and 1 in 4 place their Type 2 Diabetes into remission, saving the NHS on average £835 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, personalized behavior 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 program improve their blood glucose control whilst reducing or eliminating prescription medication and losing weight.  After one year, data show that 26% of patients with Type 2 diabetes are in remission.