14
NEWS
Meet PAN and Penny
PAN is Medtronic's Patient Advisory
Network, a group of pump users
across Europe helping shape the
development of its future products
and services. Gemma Marsh oversees
the group from a UK and Ireland
perspective. "What we hope we can
offer members of the group is a
chance to have a voice in developing
products and services with us. It's
a way for us to listen to people
properly and to make sure that our
activities and actions are the right
ones. For example, understanding
the tone and language that people
prefer to hear means that we can
have a much better dialogue and
relationship with people using
our technologies. ."
At the moment, the group is
comprised of approximately 100
people, 14 of which are across the
UK and Ireland, though Medtronic
UK & Ireland and trying to get
those numbers up in order that
this region has a bigger voice in
the wider scheme. "Members are
drawn from people who have opted
into our database and the group
is as reflective as possible of the
overall user profile," says Marsh,
"Participants do have to sign a
contract and consent form, but
after that there is a range of ways
to engage; they can be as active or
inactive as they wish."
The first face to face meeting
took place before the pandemic
broke and the group has been
meeting via Zoom since. "It has
been really enjoyable," says Marsh.
"and well thought through. Those
taking part are really keen and it's
proving popular."
Pretty Penny
Who, you may wonder, is Penny?
While she's a star character in the TV
comedy The Big Bang Theory, Penny
is also the name of Medtronic's
new diabetes app. Within the team
developing the app in-house, the
app became a character in itself
and is referred to as 'she'. A diabetes
services app, it's designed for
Medtronic's MiniMed 6 and 7 series of
pumps (so not the older Veo models).
Says Marsh, "The app gives access
to all of Medtronic's resources,
from brochures to frequently asked
questions, and videos - all in your
pocket as and when you want to
access any of them."
Medtronic's existing CareLink
platform is included as well. "We
have CareLink Insights within Penny,
which has a really lovely format," says
Marsh, "It is easy to use on the go
and is with you all the time, if you
have your smartphone with you. It
is also possible to personalise Penny.
We have a ton of stuff within this
app, but it's so easy to use and find
what you are after.. For example, if
you are on a MiniMed 670G pump,
it will only show you MiniMed 670G
resources - no having to sift through
all of the articles to find which
you need.."
It sounds pretty comprehensive.
Marsh agrees but says, "Penny
is a portal and a hub. It's taken a
long time to create because it is so
detailed, and it works both ways. We
supply users with info, while they can
feed info into the back office - for
example, input serial number from a
new device without having to log in
by computer or phone the customer
services line.
Penny pulls in CareLink™ data
to CareLink Insights, providing a
new way to visualise this, while
being separate from CareLink
itself. The newer MiniMed 780G
Advanced Hybrid Closed Loop
(AHCL) insulin delivery system will
automatically update via the Cloud
to CareLink which you can then
access through CareLink Insights
via Penny. Seamless! The MiniMed
640G and 670G pumps need data to
be uploaded to CareLink first, then it
can be viewed via Penny). Penny from
Medtronic will be available on both
Android and iOS very soon.
Disclaimer: CareLink™ Insights available
via Penny uses data uploaded by a patient to
their CareLink™ account. Note, CareLink™
Insights feature available in Penny is not a
CE Marked Medical Device.
www.medtronic-diabetes.co.uk
It is also a means by which any
user can update information in
such as a change of address, or a
new device serial number. "The
idea is to have everything in one
place for the convenience of the
user," explains, Marsh, "So it's selfservice,
for example you can request
a replacement sensor using the
app if you need to. There is also a
community section that signposted
to the company's social media
accounts on Facebook, Twitter and
so on. Additionally, it has the entire
pump training and support program
StartRight which is available to
anyone for the first three months
after starting on a new pump model.
The education modules can be
scheduled and are right there at your
fingertips to use whenever is most
convenient for you."
A new way of viewing data from