Substantial improvements in HbA_1c outcomes were observed in patients treated with a personalized approach to diabetes management via a data-driven algorithm, a recent study found. Outcomes were modeled under 13 pharmacological therapies based on electronic medical records from 1999 to 2014 for 10,806 patients with type 2 diabetes from Boston Medical Center. Researchers found:

• Among the 48,140 patient visits in the test set, the algorithm’s recommendation mirrored the observed standard of care in 68.2% of visits.
• When recommendations differed, the mean posttreatment glycated HbA_1c under the algorithm was lower than standard of care by 0.44 ± 0.03%, from 8.37% under the standard of care to 7.93% under the algorithm.

The authors suggest that the prototyped dashboard visualizing the recommendation algorithm can be used by providers to inform diabetes care and improve outcomes.