Digital Insulin Management in Type 2 Diabetes: Enhancing Treatment Adherence and Safety with Connected Pens and IDegAsp
Gökçen Güngör Semiz1, Berna Demir Yüksel1, Barış Emekdaş2, Mehmet Emin Arayıcı3, Fatma Çetinkaya4, Tevfik Demir51Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, İzmir, Türkiye, 2Department of İnternal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Bakırcay University, İzmir, Türkiye, 3Department of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Türkiye, 4Buca Seyfi Demirsoy Training and Research Hospital, İzmir, Türkiye, 5Freelance physician, İzmir, Türkiye
Objectives: Poor adherence and therapeutic inertia limit the success of insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). There is a lack of real-world evidence on connected pens addressing these barriers in T2DM. We investigated the clinical impact of integrating the NovoPen 6 smart pen with insulin degludec/aspart (IDegAsp) on treatment intensity, metabolic control, and hypoglycemia in a T2DM cohort. Methods: This multicenter, retrospective observational study included 67 patients with T2DM (median age, 65 years; diabetes duration, 15 years), divided into two groups: those who added a smart pen to ongoing IDegAsp (“digital switch,” n=46) and those who transitioned from conventional insulins (“combined switch,” n=21). Parameters were evaluated over a median follow-up of 18 months. Results: Smart pen integration significantly optimized treatment intensity across both groups. The “digital switch” cohort maintained stable metabolic control while significantly reducing total daily insulin doses (p=0.018). The “combined switch” group achieved a simplified transition with a significant decrease in daily injection frequency. Hypoglycemia rates did not differ between the subgroups. Conclusion: Integrating smart insulin pens into T2DM management optimizes dosing accuracy and reduces treatment burden without increasing hypoglycemia, serving as an essential tool for overcoming
Cite This Article
Güngör Semiz G, Demir Yüksel B, Emekdaş B, Arayıcı M, Çetinkaya F, Demir T. Digital Insulin Management in Type 2 Diabetes: Enhancing Treatment Adherence and Safety with Connected Pens and IDegAsp. EJMI. 2026; 10(3): 369-377
Corresponding Author: Gökçen Güngör Semiz