key: cord-0715725-ukommd1e
authors: Best, Frank
title: Time for a Change: Personal Experiences With COVID-19 and Diabetes
date: 2020-05-22
journal: J Diabetes Sci Technol
DOI: 10.1177/1932296820928083
sha: d4aea8a3c503a032764c8b8d413f7ce89fcb5fd2
doc_id: 715725
cord_uid: ukommd1e

Personal experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Companies like Medtronic, Dexcom, and Abbott have their own web portals, where patients can upload their CGM data and share them with their diabetes team. The medtronic (MDT) server breaks down regularly ("An error has occurred. Try again later."). Abbott updates their LibreView portal without notice, cutting off their customers for hours. The hotlines are always busy.

Meter companies like Roche require patients to use special interfaces to upload their blood glucose values. I have such an interface, most patients have not! I have learned that I could have known about this pandemic and that I could have been prepared better. Bill Gates delivered an impressive TED talk in 2015 ("The Next Outbreak"). 1 I missed it.

In October 2019, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted a pandemic tabletop exercise called Event 201, 2 describing in detail, what we are facing today. I missed it.

In the future I predict, . . . . . . that it will be our task as doctors to support patients in their approach, that the data belong to them. Not to Abbott, Dexcom, Medtronic, or Roche.

. . . that proprietary solutions are unnecessary obstacles. I think the OpenSource idea and a new kind of "community mentality" will gain more and more influence. It was impressive to see that in 48 hours during the hackathon "WirVsVirus" 3 over 40 000 people discussed and developed projects for helping others. It is impressive to see that while governments are discussing, if and which app might be suitable for contact tracking, the community is presenting such an app in a ß-version (CoEpi). 4 . . . that globalization has reached a tipping point. The credo of our economy ("more, cheaper") led to a production where wages are low, led to "optimization" (closing hospitals, putting off health workers), and led to producing pharmaceuticals in developing countries at an unbelievable price. We are suffering from that mentality now. We need to accept that quality has a price and that vital products have to be produced nearby.

. . . that this pandemic will have a deep influence on the circumstances and the mentality that will develop in our communities. Solidarity vs egoism. Dr Roberto Burioni, virologist in Milano, said in an interview: "We are sharing the same history and culture. And as well common threats. Perhaps, when this is over, we will be a united Europe. This is a pleasant thought." 5 Dr Li Wenliang 6 in Wuhan was silenced by government authorities, when he rose his voice to warn colleagues and countrymen about COVID-19. A short time later he succumbed to the disease.

He has my deepest respect.

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Frank Best https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1496-0769

The Next Outbreak. We are not ready. TED Talk

Event 201 -A global pandemic exercise. The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Community epidemiology in action

Wir führen Krieg gegen einen Feind, der unsere Gewohnheiten ausnutzt