Novo Nordisk Launches 'NovoCare' Mini Program to Enhance Digital Diabetes Management Efficiency

Self-management is critically important for patients with diabetes. According to data from the ninth edition of the IDF Diabetes Atlas published by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the rates of treatment and control of diabetes in China are suboptimal due to factors such as delayed diagnosis, insufficient attention, irregular blood glucose monitoring, and non-adherence to medication. Currently, fewer than 16% of Chinese patients achieve target blood glucose control.

Low adherence to blood glucose monitoring and medication regimens has also led some patients with diabetes to develop severe complications in the long term. In 2019, total expenditure on the treatment of diabetes and its complications in China reached RMB 758.2 billion, ranking second highest globally, with 80% of these costs attributed to the management of comorbidities.

How to Provide Efficient and Convenient Management Tools to Assist Patients in Self-Management? In the era of digital technology development, digital management tools can evidently better address the pain point of low patient adherence, facilitate improved self-management, and thereby reduce or delay the onset of complications.

Novo Nordisk, a biopharmaceutical company with a 98-year history, has recently launched a new patient education platform—the “Novo Care” mini-program.

To better serve its customers, Novo Nordisk has partnered with Microsoft to jointly launch “Xiao Nuo Teacher,” an intelligent conversational assistant powered by the smart dialogue engine developed by Microsoft Research Asia’s Engineering Group and supported by text and speech capabilities through Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services. “Xiao Nuo Teacher” will also be integrated into the “Novo Care” mini-program.

With the launch of the “NovoCare” mini-program, which embeds “Teacher Xiao Nuo,” an intelligent patient education robot for diabetes, patients with diabetes will gain access to features such as AI-powered companion-style health management (including assisted record-keeping and evidence-based treatment support) and professional Q&A services for diabetes consultation.

For the industry, the question may be: How has Novo Nordisk further elevated diabetes management standards to make the management and clinical care of diabetes patients more efficient?

The launch of the “NovoCare” mini-program represents Novo Nordisk’s new endeavor to provide digital management tools on mobile platforms. Patients can easily access the “NovoCare” mini-program by simply scanning the QR code on the medication box with WeChat. Empowered by AI, they can acquire knowledge about diabetes medications while achieving better disease management.

In fact, the launch of the new digital management tools is in line with Novo Nordisk’s exploration in the digital field.

Novo Nordisk continues to build its patient education platform.Novo Nordisk established the “Diabetes Network” for patient education on PC platforms at an early stage, while providing a physician education platform through “Tangyi Network.” Subsequently launched initiatives, including “Novo Nordisk Medical News” and “Novo Nordisk Clinical Trials,” have focused primarily on advancements in the academic field of diabetes. As mobile trends became increasingly prominent, both “Diabetes Network” and “Tangyi Network” transitioned to mobile platforms, appearing in the form of official WeChat accounts. Through these efforts, Novo Nordisk has built a multi-tiered platform for patient and physician education.

Now, with the launch of the “Novo Care” mini program,By leveraging tiered content and tool-based applications, Novo Nordisk has established a comprehensive support system for physicians, nurses, researchers, and patients. Through the continuous sharing of the latest therapeutic technologies, R&D advancements, successful treatment cases, and clinical experience, it helps enhance the diagnosis and treatment standards for diabetes.。

In addition to continuously investing in the development of its own patient and physician education platform, Novo Nordisk is also collaborating with ecosystem partners on knowledge dissemination, patient support, and disease management.For example, the “Blue Linkage” digital innovative diabetes management solution was jointly developed by Novo Nordisk and WeDoctor under the initiative of the China Medical Education Association; additionally, an Internet-plus intelligent disease management platform called “Zhitang Life” was explored and built in collaboration with Alibaba Health to deliver online services, long-term care, and comprehensive management for patients with diabetes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, access to offline medical care for patients with chronic diseases was disrupted. At the beginning of the year, Novo Nordisk accelerated the development of digital health by establishing a dedicated “Digital Health Team.” To meet the medication needs of patients with chronic conditions, Novo Nordisk launched the “Diabetes Pharmacy Convenience Map” and the “Hemophilia Pharmacy Convenience Map” in February 2020, enabling patients across China to easily locate nearby pharmacies and promptly obtain life-saving medications such as insulin and other disease-specific treatments. To address patients’ healthcare consultation needs, Novo Nordisk also partnered with multiple internet platforms to provide one-stop medical services, including online consultations, prescription renewals, and medication purchases.

Through its own patient education platform and collaborations with ecosystem partners, Novo Nordisk has developed multi-tiered digital tools to comprehensively empower patients and support physicians.

It is undeniable that in the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes, most resources are skewed toward large cities. The reason is simple: consumers in large cities are better able to afford medication costs and more capable of paying for their own health management through insurance institutions. However, patients with chronic diseases like diabetes who are covered by primary healthcare systems, constrained by economic and medical conditions, often fail to receive better diagnosis, treatment, and management despite having a need for chronic disease management. Among the 129 million people with diabetes, a significant number are covered by primary healthcare systems.

Novo Nordisk primarily focuses on two aspects in this process to enhance the capabilities of primary healthcare.

On the one hand,Novo Nordisk, in collaboration with governments and associations, has initiated or supported diverse public education campaigns to advocate for healthy lifestyles.

For instance, we support the implementation of screening programs for diabetes and its complications to enhance patients’ disease awareness and facilitate early diagnosis. From 2016 to 2019, Novo Nordisk conducted more than 13,000 activities across China, screening approximately 1.07 million individuals, including around 770,000 patients with diabetes and nearly 300,000 individuals at high risk.

Meanwhile, we support the implementation of the “Research on Health Policies for Diabetes Prevention and Control and Pilot Project to Boost the Development of Endocrinology Disciplines at the County Level,” also known as the “Blue County” project, to facilitate the development and capacity building of endocrinology departments in county-level hospitals. Since its launch in 2017, the project has covered nearly 1,300 hospitals across more than 1,000 counties nationwide.

On the other hand,Novo Nordisk is also collaborating with experts to empower primary care endocrinologists and general practitioners.

By supporting the “Chief Physician for Diabetes” program, Novo Nordisk has enhanced the clinical capabilities of general practitioners and facilitated the implementation of tiered diagnosis and treatment policies as well as the family doctor contract system. From 2016 to 2019, the program trained a total of 2,200 chief physicians, covering 45 cities across China.

By supporting the “Special Capacity Building Project for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control at the Primary Care Level – Diabetes Management Special Project,” initiated by the National Health and Family Planning Commission’s Center for Capacity Building and Continuing Education, Novo Nordisk is also helping to improve diabetes management and clinical care at the primary care level. The project aims to train 3,000 general practitioners across 60 cities from 2018 to 2021.

Novo Nordisk is also expanding and transforming the diabetes ecosystem in this process, driving improvements in patient diagnosis and treatment standards.

Despite the immense potential of diabetes medications, patients must still adhere to monitoring their diet, physical activity levels, and medication regimens, leaving a significant number of unmet needs. Novo Nordisk continues to explore innovations in pharmaceuticals, injection devices, disease understanding, and disease treatment and management approaches, while empowering healthcare professionals and patients through digital solutions.

“Novo Care” mini-program, as an AI-powered tool, is positioned to serve as a “smart assistant” for diabetes patients and an “out-of-hospital aide” for physicians.The decision to partner with Microsoft was driven by its strengths in artificial intelligence technology. Novo Nordisk aims to leverage the power of AI to more broadly and efficiently disseminate diabetes-related disease knowledge, thereby supporting patients in their daily disease management.

Mr. Zhao Zhizhong, Chief Transformation Officer of Microsoft Greater China and Regional Lead for Microsoft’s Global AI National Program, stated, “Our ongoing commitment is to ensure that patients benefit from AI services delivered with empathy and care. Guided by our ‘Responsible AI’ principles, Microsoft evaluates and requires every AI product and application to meet standards across six dimensions: fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability. Furthermore, from the perspectives of sustainability and social impact, we are continuously exploring how to strengthen collaborations with multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Novo Nordisk, leveraging digital tools to amplify our impact, enhance patient care, and improve user experience.”

In the future, Novo Nordisk will continue to collaborate with Microsoft in the field of healthcare and artificial intelligence, setting a new benchmark for AI-enabled chronic disease management. Leveraging AI applications, Novo Nordisk also plans to deliver personalized management and intelligent recommendations tailored to each patient’s unique characteristics, disease type, and disease stage, thereby enhancing patient satisfaction.

For Novo Nordisk, “the continuous impetus of the new wave of big data and digitalization is spurring innovation and transformation in the healthcare industry. The digital era of healthcare has fully arrived, ushering in novel therapeutic approaches and a reshaped market landscape.”Leveraging digitalization for public education and fostering multi-directional, effective communication with patients will be a key focus of Novo Nordisk’s digital innovation strategy.”