Glytec, a cloud-based insulin management software provider across the continuum of care, has announced a strategic partnership with Roche Diagnostics USA.

This digital health collaboration combines Roche’s expertise in medical devices and IT solutions with Glytec’s FDA-cleared insulin dosing decision support software, Glucommander, to address the challenges with inpatient blood sugar management at the hospital bedside. Glucommander will be the first software application available to run on Roche’s smart-device next-generation hospital blood glucose system, cobas pulse, which is designed with the intention of improving patient safety and care by empowering point-of-care clinicians to collect and take immediate action on glycaemic management data.

Glucommander has been proven to reduce severe low blood sugar by 99.8%, 30-day readmissions by 36-68%and length of stay by up to 3.2 days. The safety and efficacy of Glucommander have been validated in hundreds of research studies, making it the most studied software solution in the category. One customer calculated that Glucommander led to over $9 million in cost savings in the first year of use.

Ed Furlong, chief executive officer at Glytec, said: “Our algorithmic decision support software has been helping hospital clinicians optimise glycaemic management for nearly two decades, and we’ve seen the positive impact it can have. The fact that Roche understands the importance of inpatient glycaemic management and chose Glytec as the first software partner for the revolutionary device it’s designing speaks volumes about the technology we’ve built and the direction the market is headed.”

This combination of hardware and software is being designed to help nurses and physicians close the gap between getting data and taking action. Clinicians’ time is their most limited resource: the objectives of the partnership are to combine the immediacy of a bedside blood glucose test with Glytec's insulin decision support on a single, handheld device, with the intention of streamlining workflows and saving time. The integrated device and applications are designed to improve patient safety and outcomes by empowering point-of-care clinicians to collect and take immediate action on glycaemic management data.

Brad Moore, senior vice president, Core Lab and Point of Care at Roche Diagnostics, said: “Diagnostics play a critical role in helping people live longer and healthier lives and we are hopeful that this partnership with Glytec will bring an innovative glucose management tool to the point of care. Our goal is to drive better care for patients and there is a great need for a diagnostic ecosystem that combines accurate results, robust data, and digital capabilities to improve the standard of care.”