SdNcenter and Ascensia deliver online diabetes support globally with Azure

SdNcenter, a Polish IT consulting firm, specializes in software solutions built using Microsoft technology. Founded in 2006, it focused on advanced custom software and health tech sector, which significantly evolved through a partnership with Bayer. First SdNcenter developed an easy to use and efficient desktop application for healthcare providers (HCPs) to manage data of people with diabetes (PWDs), setting it apart from traditional siloed systems. When Bayer's diabetes department became Ascensia after it was acquired by the PHC Group, SdNcenter’s capabilities made it a natural partner for the new diabetes care company and its world-renowned CONTOUR portfolio of blood glucose monitoring (BGM) systems. Together, they aimed to transform the desktop app into a global, cloud based, real-time healthcare ecosystem.

“Interconnectedness leads to better health insights and treatment outcomes,” observes Łukasz Ładyński, Co-founder and CEO of SdNcenter. “With GlucoContro.online people with diabetes can easily capture their meals, log exercises, and upload data from their glucometers. Giving healthcare professionals easy access to this data can drive better recommendations. Although there is no cure for diabetes, this tool can potentially help improve the lives and health outcomes for PWDs.”

Bridging healthcare gaps with technology

“At the time, the healthcare sector was firmly rooted in the concept of using localized apps installed within hospitals,” recalls Przemysław Ładyński, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of SdNcenter. “We were able to overcome these reservations with a minimum viable product of our concept in just four months using Microsoft Azure—it was great that we could achieve so much in such a short timeframe. This momentum became the driver for further development.”

SdNcenter continued to build the solution using Azure Cosmos DB and SQL for health data storage. It provided real-time reports through Microsoft Power BI and used Azure API Management for future third-party integrations with health partners. Azure SignalR Service was used for near real-time connectivity between healthcare professionals and PWDs. Data privacy concerns were tackled by integrating the capability for PWDs to choose their own cloud drive for storing health data and leveraging global infrastructure and isolation capabilities of Microsoft Azure Cloud.

A critical factor for achieving widespread adoption across countries was the ability to fully automate the translation of the solution. “We'd set up a new instance in a new region, localize the solution through our Azure DevOps process, and the app was up and running. The speed at which we could develop and localize the solution meant that we could deliver in line with Ascensia’s ability to swiftly commercialize the solution in each country,” shares Przemysław Ładyński.

This collaboration resulted in a scalable GlucoContro.online solution capable of handling data from over 150 million PWDs. It is already used by more than 10,000 clinics, thousands of HCPs, and is processing millions of health related datapoints.

"GlucoContro.online powered by Azure can seamlessly partner with the third-party apps that provide the additional context information for HCPs that may affect the results such as the meals that a PWD eats," says Łukasz Ładyński.

PWDs can upload glucometer readings via USB or Bluetooth. HCPs receive online updates when a PWD uploads new data, enabling health professionals to respond accordingly.

Handling critical health data

The impact of SdNcenter’s solution for Ascensia extends beyond the swiftness and ease with which it enables healthcare providers to interact with diabetes data. It also includes the platform’s meticulous approach to security and compliance. After the successful launch of GlucoContro.online, SdNcenter leaned into Azure’s cloud-based tools, especially Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory), Hardware Security Modules (HSM) and encryption mechanisms, to ensure robust security. "We achieved compliance with ISO 27001 and met all security requirements of local governments. Our solution was even audited by some countries’ governmental authorities, giving us excellent scores," Łukasz Ładyński adds. This focus on security and compliance enhances the trust between doctors and users, enabling healthcare providers to focus on PWD care.

Today the solution has evolved into a suite of services, forming a healthcare ecosystem with a global identity provider featuring multi-factor authentication, applicable to all Ascensia digital services. It includes centralized account management, versatile external business-to-business APIs, and a highly robust Customer Data Platform with a unique data warehouse built on Microsoft Azure Data Factory.

The data sourced from the global market, coupled with correlations with consumers, healthcare providers, and contextual information, offers previously unattainable tools and insights. These resources benefit commercial teams, sales representatives, and analytics by driving optimizations in business processes and enhancing overall efficiency.

Empowered to provide the best care to people with diabetes

GlucoContro.online truly shines in its lightning-fast data transfer speed and suitably complements Ascensia’s leading range of glucometers. Together they are making a profound impact on healthcare providers. Previously, diabetes management systems took up to two minutes to download data, a significant burden for healthcare professionals like pediatricians who have only three minutes per child due to their heavy patient load. As Przemysław Ładyński explains, "Our solution not only delivers real-time synchronized cloud data but also reduces in-office data download times to a mere 15–20 seconds. This empowers healthcare providers with precious additional time to dedicate to patient care instead of wrestling with technology. This rapid data access isn't confined to the hospital; authorized users can access it from any device or location, enabling teleconsultations."

A powerful global proprietary medical data broker has the capability to acquire and transmit data seamlessly between numerous sources and targets. These sources encompass internal services, external partners, hospital EHR systems, and third-party applications connected by patients. The comprehensive patient context compiled from these diverse sources can be readily and securely shared among patients, caregivers, doctors, hospitals, clinics, and external applications.

This ability to download in any location has enabled patients to have remote tele-consultations, essential for times when physical visits aren’t feasible. "Both parties can analyze this data through charts. PWDs have access to the same reports as the HCPs, allowing PWDs to observe trend lines and see how their results correlate with physical activity, consumed meals, insulin injections or specific times of the day or month," Łukasz Ładyński points out.

Moreover, PWDs can share relevant information among health care professionals of different specializations, leveraging instant link established with QR code or enrolling to other practices through code or invitation. “It turned out to be very powerful in scenarios where a pregnant woman needs to share her diabetes history with her obstetrician, or when patients undergoing treatment for other conditions also develop diabetes,” Przemysław Ładyński adds.

Transforming the healthcare ecosystem

The reception of SdNcenter and Ascensia's GlucoContro.online solution, which is operational across Europe, Asia Pacific, and the United States, has been overwhelmingly positive. "The feedback specifically praises the areas we aimed to address with our solution, such as interconnectivity, data sharing, and data downloading options," remarks Łukasz Ładyński. “SdNcenter has proved their ability to accomplish very complex and broad software projects, which has perfectly accentuated Ascensia’s delivery of best-in-class BGM products and customer service. We are very satisfied with the decision to engage SdNcenter as the vendor responsible for developing this crucial software product," says Harris A. (Hal) Lieber, Director, Product Engineering at Ascensia.

Przemyslaw and Łukasz Ładyński have laid out ambitious plans for the platform’s future. "We aim to expand our platform to include more partners, artificial intelligence, and automation. Our vision is to fully integrate with all major hospital systems to exchange EHR records,” says Przemyslaw Ładyński. “Currently, our platform has been installed in almost 90% of diabetes-specific centers in Poland and we’re rapidly growing in over 35 countries where it is already commercially launched by Ascensia," adds Łukasz Ładyński. Projects to replicate the diabetes solution in oncology and cardiology are on the horizon as well." Our ultimate goal is an ecosystem which enables patients with different conditions—not just diabetes—to benefit from our platform, connecting them to their HCPs," concludes Przemysław Ładyński.

The architectural design takes into account the scalability of all doctor and patient-facing portals, the global healthcare identity provider, the interconnected data sharing broker, the robust customer data platform, and all other ancillary services. This consideration is geared towards accommodating companies interested in constructing their digital ecosystem on this foundation in various healthcare domains.