diabetes care

CT Startups Edge Into Cluttered Market With Diabetes Apps

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When Adam Berger, 29, who has Type 1 diabetes, decided to get a sandwich from a deli, he first ran it by his mobile application ezbds, which he launched in Stamford two years ago. The app told him that in the past when he’d eaten that particular sandwich from the same deli, he hadn’t experienced glucose spikes. “So I decided to stick with it,” Berger said. “An hour later when ezbds reminded me to check, my glucose was 123.” That’s a good number according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), which suggests a target of less than 180 mg/dL an hour or two after beginning a meal for adults with diabetes. “By tracking what they eat, people can identify how certain foods affect their blood sugar,” said Nancy Salem, coordinator of the Diabetes Education Program at Danbury Hospital.

health care

Drug Prices Keep Rising Despite Efforts To Reduce Out-Of-Pocket Costs

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Michael Baudin of Manchester retired eight years ago after a career in auto repair, but now the 76-year-old is back working part time as a driver so he can afford prescription medications. “Every year premiums go up and my co-pay is increasing,” he said. “I take medication for cholesterol, hypertension, heart, prostate and digestion. My wife quit her job due to health issues and her medication is expensive too.”

Baudin says his out-of-pocket cost for a 90-day supply of just one drug, Creon from AbbVie Inc., which he takes for digestion, is $100. The drug does not have a generic equivalent.