Out for some groceries or a walk in the park? While you’re out you might also quickly check your weight, blood pressure and blood sugar level at a diabetes station.
How to deal with the growing number of patients with diabetes? That was the question debated last Tuesday during a periodical meeting (the Medical Delta café) hosted by Medical Delta, a joint venture involving the universities of Leiden, Rotterdam and Delft.
According to keynote speaker, Eric Sijbrands, a professor of internal medicine at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, currently about 800,000 people suffer from diabetes in the Netherlands. During his presentation, Professor Sijbrands added that “the number of patients is increasing so rapidly – 1.5 million patients in 2025 is a conservative estimate – that the quality of the diabetes care can no longer be guaranteed to all patients in the years to come. We will have to do more with fewer doctors, which requires innovative solutions.”
Prof. Sijbrands believes that he, and a company called IPT Medical Services (a daughter company of KNP), have found part of the solution: the Diabetes Station. This measuring station, the first of which has recently been installed at Erasmus MC, allows diabetes patients to measure important values, such as their weight, blood pressure and blood sugar levels, themselves. If the stations measure alarming figures, the patient is referred to a specialist.
A big problem, the professor notes, is related to the patients’ lifestyles; people suffering from the disease should carefully watch their diet, smoking and drinking habits, among other factors. “The Diabetes Station is the diabetologist 2.0. It’s a machine with a virtual doctor inside that speaks eight languages and can also help people change their lifestyle, for instance by giving people dietary advice, which thus gives patients more of a grip on their disease.” Since the station allows for a playful way to deal with health issues, Prof. Sijbrands believes that his invention will also be used by people who are generally not so much preoccupied by preventive medicine.
This summer about ten more stations will be installed around the country, Prof. Sijbrands adds.
The Dutch National Association for Diabetes (Diabetesvereniging Nederland) was recently given a demonstration and is enthusiastic, according to a spokesperson for the association.
Deze trend ziet de overheid graag, want die wil ondernemerschap onder jongeren aanjagen. De regering hoopt ook dat werknemers zich steeds ondernemender gaan gedragen. Dat zou goed zijn voor de economie. Voor de tweede keer liet het ministerie van OCW uitzoeken hoe het staat met ondernemerschap in het onderwijs.
Onder studenten lijkt de boodschap aan te slaan, ondanks – of misschien juist dankzij – de economische crisis. Met name hbo’ers (28 procent) zien een eigen bedrijf wel zitten. Maar ook academici willen steeds vaker dat ze voor zichzelf beginnen: nu achttien procent tegen zeven procent in 2007.
Vooral de uitdaging en de onafhankelijkheid spreken tot de verbeelding, blijkt uit een enquête onder studenten. Geld verdienen is minder vaak de drijfveer, maar wel vaker dan voorheen: tegenwoordig noemt één op de twee studenten geld als reden om een eigen bedrijf te starten, terwijl dat drie jaar geleden nog maar één op de drie was.
Al zijn de resultaten bemoedigend, er valt nog een wereld te winnen, vindt demissionair staatssecretaris Marja van Bijsterveldt (CDA). Studenten hebben te weinig weet van alle voorzieningen waar ze gebruik van kunnen maken als ze naast hun studie een bedrijfje willen opzetten. Tweederde heeft bijvoorbeeld geen idee of er aan hun hogeschool of universiteit een ‘centre of entrepreneurship’ is.
Er moet iets gebeuren, concludeert ook onderzoeksbureau EIM, dat het rapport heeft geschreven. Verbeter de beeldvorming rond ondernemerschap, vooral in het primair onderwijs: je kunt niet vroeg genoeg beginnen. Pas bovendien de inspectienormen aan, want de onderwijsinspectie wil scholen wel eens op de vingers tikken als ze te veel uren aan ondernemerschap besteden.
Aan hogescholen is ondernemerschap al tamelijk vanzelfsprekend, maar aan universiteiten niet. Ondernemerschap dringt maar moeizaam tot het verplichte curriculum door, vinden de rapporteurs. Specifiek voor de universiteiten bepleit EIM een subsidie om daar verandering in te brengen.
How to deal with the growing number of patients with diabetes? That was the question debated last Tuesday during a periodical meeting (the Medical Delta café) hosted by Medical Delta, a joint venture involving the universities of Leiden, Rotterdam and Delft.
According to keynote speaker, Eric Sijbrands, a professor of internal medicine at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, currently about 800,000 people suffer from diabetes in the Netherlands. During his presentation, he added that “the number of patients is increasing so rapidly – 1.5 million patients in 2025 is a conservative estimate – that the quality of the diabetes care can no longer be guaranteed to all patients in the years to come. We will have to do more with fewer doctors, which requires innovative solutions.”
Sijbrands believes that he, and a company called IPT Medical Services (a daughter company of KNP), have found part of the solution: the Diabetes Station. This measuring station, the first of which has recently been installed at Erasmus MC, allows diabetes patients to measure important values, such as their weight, blood pressure and blood sugar levels, themselves. If the stations measure alarming figures, the patient is referred to a specialist.
A big problem, the professor notes, is related to the patients’ lifestyles; people suffering from the disease should carefully watch their diet, smoking and drinking habits, among other factors. “The Diabetes Station is the diabetologist 2.0. It’s a machine with a virtual doctor inside that speaks eight languages and can also help people change their lifestyle, for instance by giving people dietary advice, which thus gives patients more of a grip on their disease.” Since the station allows for a playful way to deal with health issues, Prof. Sijbrands believes that his invention will also be used by people who are generally not so much preoccupied by preventive medicine.
This summer about ten more stations will be installed around the country, Prof. Sijbrands adds.
The Dutch National Association for Diabetes (Diabetesvereniging Nederland) was recently given a demonstration and is enthusiastic, according to a spokesperson for the association.
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