Diabetes Technology Starts: Amiad Fredman from Sweet Spot on Remote CGM and Diabetes Data Management
February 13, 2026 • 20 mins
In this second episode of our Diabetes Technology Starts series, we speak with Sweet Spot co-founder and physician Amiad Fredman about turning continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data into proactive diabetes care. He explains how Sweet Spot partners with endocrinology and primary care practices to remotely monitor patients using tools like the Glycemia Risk Index (GRI) to triage risk and guide timely insulin adjustments between visits without requiring new devices or added work from patients. We also discuss the role of AI in analyzing glucose data and streamlining clinical workflows, as well as Sweet Spot’s provider-aligned business model that supports sustainable remote monitoring.
Listen
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Welcome to Diabetes TechnologyReport.
I'm Dr.
David Klonoff.
I'm an endocrinologist at MillsPeninsula Medical Center in San
(00:23):
Mateo, California.
We have a very talented guesttoday, and he will be introduced
by my co-host, Dr.
David Kerr.
David Kerr (00:32):
Thanks, David, and hello to everyone.
I'm David Kerr.
As usual, I'm speaking to youfrom sunny California, from
Santa Barbara specifically.
Today we have Amiyad Fredmanfrom Sweet Spot, and he's based
in St.
Louis.
Amiad, welcome to the podcast.
Lovely to see you.
Thanks for having me here toboth Davids.
(00:54):
Excellent.
So we always begin this becauseI'm interested in the person
behind the company.
So how come you have ended updevoting your existence to
dialogue at the moment?
What was the spur for that?
Amiad Fredman (01:11):
Yeah, you know, it's funny because when you look
back at your path, any pathreally, it has a tendency to
kind of appear uh linear inhindsight.
But of course, when you're inthe midst of it making each
decision, sometimes it seems alittle bit more jumbled in the
moment.
And so looking back, there isthis nice linear story.
(01:34):
Uh so my background is inmedicine.
I am a trained physician.
I graduated from uh School ofMedicine and GW in Washington,
D.C.
with my MD.
And then took a turning pointin my career.
After obtaining my MD, Idecided to take a little bit of
a leap of faith and jump intothe digital health world.
(01:55):
I had some experience inmedical school working with
different product teams in thedigital health space.
And I really just loved my timeworking with developers,
designers, and saw the impactthat someone who is medically
trained, someone who ismedically minded, can have not
(02:19):
only in the classic positions ina health company that you might
think of for a physician, chiefmedical officer, medical
director, clinical studies,things like that, but more on
the ground level, right?
More working in the trencheswith designers, with developers,
with the product teams.
So that's how I got my start indigital health.
(02:39):
How I came into diabetes wasactually just a function of my
exploration in the space ofdigital health.
So, you know, diabetes is suchan interesting and unique area
and specialty of medicinebecause I think so often those
who end up in the specialty havea direct connection.
(03:00):
They know someone withdiabetes, they have a personal
connection to the disease.
In my case, it was really thetechnology that actually pulled
me in and grabbed me.
So Sweet Spot, as I'm surewe'll discuss more, is all about
making use of the power of CGMsand insulin pumps, making sure
we are fully utilizing thattechnology.
(03:23):
And so that's really what gotme into the diabetes space.
David Kerr (03:26):
Well, it's great to have really smart, young, driven
people in diabetes.
So what is the problem thatSweet Spot is trying to solve in
a nutshell?
Amiad Fredman (03:37):
Sweet Spot is solving the problem of data
accessibility for CGMs andinsulin pumps and data impact.
We know that these devices areincredibly powerful, obviously
moving from a one-point metricof a hemoglobin A1C or a blood
(04:00):
glucose measurement from afinger stick to now information
every five minutes.
But how is that continuous datavisualized and digested by the
healthcare system and by thephysician to make treatment
changes?
A lot of times that data isjust kind of acted on
(04:25):
reactively, right?
Every three, four, six monthswhen the patient comes in for
their visit with theirendocrinologist.
And that's good.
You have obviously moreinsight, and maybe a patient is
more motivated and is able tolook at the numbers on their
own.
But that continuous andcloud-enabled ability that comes
(04:47):
with the devices is somewhatlost in the healthcare system.
And so Sweet Spot was createdto ensure that we take advantage
of the remote monitoringcapabilities that CGMs and
insulin pumps bring with themtoday, and to ensure that
doctors can be proactive intaking care of their patients
(05:10):
who are on these devices andhave the support to do so rather
than reactive.
David Klonoff (05:15):
Amy, and how can a patient achieve the sweet spot
experience?
Where do they go?
What type of a doctor wouldthey see?
Amiad Fredman (05:23):
So sweet spot partners typically with
endocrinologists.
We partner with privatepractice endocrinologists all
over the country.
We're working with more healthsystems now as well.
And so we actually start withthe provider.
Primary care absolutely is onthe table as well.
You know, more uh people livingwith diabetes are being managed
(05:44):
by their primary care providersevery day.
And so wherever the patientgoes to receive their diabetes
care, that's where Sweet Spot isstarting at.
And it is with the providerswho are looking for help,
essentially, in being able tomanage and monitor their
patients on a CGM and doing soremotely.
David Klonoff (06:04):
Well, you mentioned that you're very
interested in CGM data.
What exactly do you providethat maybe someone without Sweet
Spot would not be providing?
Amiad Fredman (06:14):
So when Sweet Spot started, we really thought
of ourselves as a softwarecompany.
We started with the technology.
We built a system for doctorsand care teams to use that, you
know, was invisible to thepatient.
It was to get at that dataaccessibility and make sure that
doctors can see who they needto reach out to, who needs that
(06:38):
care in between their visits.
But we quickly learned thateven if you had the greatest,
you know, innovation andtechnology, and we think
certainly Sweet Spot is that,it's not really worth all that
much if the provider or theclinic does not set up with the
resources to use it.
(06:59):
And we know that time is alimited resource in healthcare.
And so what I would say am mostproud of with Sweet Spot is our
clinical team.
So we have an entire clinicalservice that we provide with
Sweet Spot.
And we like to say we onlybring on really the best of the
best.
And I think we we truly do, anincredible team of diabetes
(07:22):
educators that every day arekeeping an eye out on all
patients who are part of theSweet Spot program and reaching
out to them at least once amonth or more if needed, if
their data tells us to.
If their data is saying, hey,this patient can't wait until
the next time they come in theoffice.
(07:42):
They we need to reach out now.
We need to adjust their insulinnow.
And so that is the sweet spotexperience.
It feels a lot like, and maybeyou like this term, maybe you
don't, but it feels a lot likewhat's known as concierge
medicine.
It is going kind of thatproactive above and beyond mile,
(08:02):
and you know, I almost like aguardian angel sometimes.
I use.
And patients say that.
They say, wow, I've never hadmy doctor reach out to me
before.
And and those are the types ofcomments that really motivate us
and keep us going.
David Kerr (08:17):
I mean, just to clarify though, do you have, if
you're a person with diabetes,do you have to be on a pump and
you have to be on the CGM toqualify for sweet spot?
Or are you because of theexplosion in the interest of
CGM, even outside of insulin,let alone pumps, what about
(08:38):
those folks?
Well, would they benefit fromthis kind of interaction?
Amiad Fredman (08:43):
Right.
So Sweet Spot in in its currentstate today, the CGM is the
starting point.
Being on a CGM is what tellsSweet Spot that they are that
this is a person who is eligiblefor this program.
Now, to your point, more peopleare coming on CGMs than ever
before.
And this new standards of careand diabetes was recently
(09:04):
released, and it is encouragingand continues to encourage the
CGM adoption, getting CGMs notjust for your type one patients,
but for your individuals withtype two.
We're seeing more pre-diabetesnow having CGMs as well.
So these individuals are all,you know, eligible for the Sweet
(09:25):
Spot program.
And, you know, in the future,could Sweet Spot, you know, take
another step and look at thediabetes as a whole?
And, you know, we're actuallylooking into chronic care
management right now.
And so, yes, that is certainlysomething that is on the table,
but we really want to be at thatforefront of innovation.
(09:46):
And at the end of the day, wepassionately believe in these
devices and see firsthand theimpact they can have in
someone's life who lives withdiabetes.
And so that's where we trulybelieve is where we want to be
spending our time.
David Kerr (10:00):
And and also practically, what about other
data, other inputs?
Do people have to keep fooddiarrhees?
Do they have to photographtheir food?
Do they have to wear an AppleWatch?
What other stuff do people haveto provide a sweet spot in in
order for your team tounderstand the glucose profiles?
Amiad Fredman (10:20):
It was really important to us from the very
beginning to not require anybehavior change from the
patient.
So there is no new device thatthey need to wear.
There is no new app that theyneed to download.
Whatever they're doing today isfine.
As long as they're sharingtheir data with their provider,
you know, their DEXCOM data withtheir provider, that is where
(10:43):
Sweet Spot is coming in.
Now, if you have a patient whois particularly motivated and
within their DEXCOM Clarity appis keeping that food log, that
of course is only going to helptheir diabetes educator with
that context and going toprovide more insight.
But very intentionally, wedidn't want the individual or
(11:06):
the patient to have to do morethan they're already doing
because already living withdiabetes is much more than
someone who doesn't, right?
They're already making muchmore decisions on a daily basis
than someone who isn't livingwith the disease.
David Klonoff (11:20):
Aaron Powell, there's a new method for
analyzing how well a person isdoing based on their CGM data
called the glycemia risk index.
Are you using that at SweetSpot?
And if so, what do you do withthat information?
Amiad Fredman (11:36):
Yes.
So the glycemia risk index orGRI has been a really important
and valuable metric for us atSweet Spot.
In taking in all this patientdata, it's very easy to get
overwhelmed to have that dataoverload.
GRI is exactly what we werelooking for as a single metric
(11:59):
and a metric of triage that youcan use that is a compound
metric for all of the time inrange data, time below, time
above, time in range.
And it shows you one numberthat you can then really sort
on, essentially, your patientpopulation to get a sense of,
all right, who's who's thepatient I need to focus on
today?
Who are the five?
(12:21):
Even more than that, becauseglycemia risk index is typically
conveyed in this graph oralmost like heat map type of
display, it's a wonderful visualindicator to the user, who is
the clinician, to be able tojust quickly see without needing
to do any math in their head,okay, what's going on with this
(12:44):
patient?
How does that compare to thispatient?
This patient's having some moreissues with hyperglycemia, this
patient's having more issueswith hypoglycemia, and the
relative risk that those levelsof hyper hypoglycemia are
contributing to their overallglycemic health.
So it's a very powerful, almostvisual triage tool that we've
(13:06):
been able to tap into.
And it's also a very nice,colorful tool that adds a nice
burst of color to our sweet spotplatforms that's very
eye-catching, which, from adesign standpoint, actually is
significant.
So we use GRI every single dayas a method of triage, and we
also use GRI as our main metricto capture clinical outcomes.
(13:27):
Because again, it is one metricthat we can say for our
patients who started in thisarea of uh glycemic, glycemic
risk according to their GRI,they, you know, on average
improve to this, you know,glycemic uh risk index or zone
of GRI.
And so from a patient, if anindividual basis, for each
(13:51):
patient, we're able to see howtheir GRI changes over time.
But then also from a populationstandpoint, we're able to see
how the sweet spot interventioncontributes to GRI changes over
time from a populationstandpoint.
David Klonoff (14:05):
Amiens, we're hearing a lot now about
artificial intelligence beingused to analyze uh data streams
and reach conclusions that wouldbe too complicated for a human,
even with a computer.
What do you think is the futureof AI for diabetes?
Amiad Fredman (14:22):
Well, I think there are a lot of implications
for AI in the world, inhealthcare, in diabetes.
I almost divide it into twoaspects that are particularly
exciting for me.
The first one is what youmentioned, Dr.
Klonoff, which is actually, youknow, AI is something that has
been this in the sphere ofthings for the past decade or
(14:44):
so, which is AI and data, right?
How can we take raw glucosevalues?
Of course, we're getting thisdata every five minutes, every
one minute.
And based on that, fine trendsand warning signs that maybe
would be difficult, if notimpossible, to spot from the
naked eye.
So again, it comes from thatproactive standpoint.
(15:05):
That's very exciting and comesback to data, data, data.
Data is key.
And then there is more of thebroad applications of AI, which
comes into the workload andworkflow aspect of AI and
healthcare.
And that is something that I'mparticularly excited about.
(15:26):
You know, one of the reasons Igot into digital health is
because I, as someone who is aself-proclaimed nerd, right?
And someone who's always beenpassionate about technology, it
drove me absolutely crazy inmedical school how technology
was often associated with an eyeroll, right?
It made doctors' lives harder.
(15:46):
The EMR, you know, how manymore clicks do I need to go in?
From the patient experience, weall know what it's like seeing
a doctor and they're spendingmore time, uh, sometimes looking
in the computer than speakingwith the patient.
These are things that have beennegative implications of
technology's use case inhealthcare.
I think there's a potential forAI to reverse some of that and
(16:10):
to uplift the burden, theadministrative part of
healthcare and being a physicianand bring the provider back to
the face-to-face, eye-to-eyewith the patient as well.
So both of those things arethings that I'm incredibly
excited about and that we'reactively looking into.
It's a sweet spot.
David Kerr (16:26):
I mean, I've got a couple of practical questions
again.
So, from a physician point ofview, and actually I love the
idea that primary care is goingto get more involved in CGM and
automated insulin deliverysystems and so on and so forth.
So, how is what's the businessmodel here?
And at this moment in time, howpopular is Sweet Spot?
Amiad Fredman (16:48):
That's a good question.
It's a good question.
Well, I'll take the the latterpart of your question first.
In terms of popularity, it'sbeen really humbling to see
Sweet Spot picking up steam andbecoming more of a well-known
name.
Um, you know, we go to variousconferences in diabetes, the um
(17:08):
uh technology conferences, theuh uh ADCS, uh ADA, of course.
And we've been going to thesenow for the past couple of
years.
And it's always exciting to seethe feedback and the reaction.
But every single year we'reseeing more individuals coming
to us saying, Oh, my friend toldme about Sweet Spot.
(17:29):
They said this is something Ihad to come see.
And so that is neat seeing thatname, you know, starting to
become a little bit morewell-known, certainly as a
startup founder.
That's that's very that's veryhumbling.
And then, David, your firstpart of your question, remind
me.
The business model, I mean thebusiness model.
Right.
David Kerr (17:45):
How do you who pays for this?
So what do they pay and thattype of stuff?
Amiad Fredman (17:49):
Yeah.
So that was also something thatvery early on in the early days
of Sweet Spot was reallyimportant to us that this had to
make sense, not just from aclinical standpoint, not just
from a workflow standpoint, butfrom a financial standpoint,
from the perspective of theprovider as well.
And so Sweet Spot's pricingmodel and business model
(18:11):
essentially says to theprovider, you don't pay anything
for Sweet Spot.
Sweet Spot is bringing inrevenue for the practice based
on this new type of caredeliverance that is being given,
this care in-between visits,remote patient monitoring,
chronic care management,whatever the various CPT codes
(18:32):
that are able to be utilized.
That is a new revenue streamthat Sweet Spot is enabling for
the provider and the practice.
And actually, it is only basedon the work that is completed
that Sweet Spot generates anyrevenue for itself as the
company.
And so that was something thatwas really important to us to be
able to really be hand in handin terms of success with the
(18:57):
practice and the provider andsay, we don't make a dime unless
we're working for you.
And our success is inherentlytied to the providers and the
practice's success.
David Klonoff (19:08):
And what's it like practicing medicine in St.
Louis, Missouri?
Amiad Fredman (19:12):
Well, my version of uh, I guess my method of
medicine practice looks a lotdifferent than the regular
physician in St.
Louis, Missouri.
So I am full-time engaged inSweet Spot.
So people ask my specialty, Ilike to say startups, remote
monitoring.
And so at this point in time,I've I've actually taken my full
(19:33):
dedication and focus ontomanaging the company and the
product and the clinical team.
But that's that's, you know, Ithink important.
Uh, you know, easy to kind ofmake the joke about that there
in terms of the specialty.
But I think in today's age,what does digital health mean?
And I think we will see moreand more physicians finding
(19:58):
careers for themselves innon-traditional ways.
I mean, there's a real need forthat.
And I certainly uh, you know,uh see that every day.
David Klonoff (20:08):
Amien, I would like to thank you for
participating in our podcasttoday on behalf of me and Dr.
David Kerr.
You're one of our firstspeakers on Diabetes Technology
Starts podcast, which is forstartups and uh your company is
a startup.
Uh, we wish you success.
And uh the Diabetes TechnologyStarts podcast is available at
(20:33):
the Diabetes Technology Societywebsite and at Spotify and at
other sources of podcasts.
I look forward to seeing youagain, and for now, to the
audience, goodbye.
We'll see you later.
Goodbye.
Welcome to Diabetes TechnologyReport.
I'm Dr.
David Klonoff.
I'm an endocrinologist at MillsPeninsula Medical Center in San
(00:23):
Mateo, California.
We have a very talented guesttoday, and he will be introduced
by my co-host, Dr.
David Kerr.
David Kerr (00:32):
Thanks, David, and hello to everyone.
I'm David Kerr.
As usual, I'm speaking to youfrom sunny California, from
Santa Barbara specifically.
Today we have Amiyad Fredmanfrom Sweet Spot, and he's based
in St.
Louis.
Amiad, welcome to the podcast.
Lovely to see you.
Thanks for having me here toboth Davids.
(00:54):
Excellent.
So we always begin this becauseI'm interested in the person
behind the company.
So how come you have ended updevoting your existence to
dialogue at the moment?
What was the spur for that?
Amiad Fredman (01:11):
Yeah, you know, it's funny because when you look
back at your path, any pathreally, it has a tendency to
kind of appear uh linear inhindsight.
But of course, when you're inthe midst of it making each
decision, sometimes it seems alittle bit more jumbled in the
moment.
And so looking back, there isthis nice linear story.
(01:34):
Uh so my background is inmedicine.
I am a trained physician.
I graduated from uh School ofMedicine and GW in Washington,
D.C.
with my MD.
And then took a turning pointin my career.
After obtaining my MD, Idecided to take a little bit of
a leap of faith and jump intothe digital health world.
(01:55):
I had some experience inmedical school working with
different product teams in thedigital health space.
And I really just loved my timeworking with developers,
designers, and saw the impactthat someone who is medically
trained, someone who ismedically minded, can have not
(02:19):
only in the classic positions ina health company that you might
think of for a physician, chiefmedical officer, medical
director, clinical studies,things like that, but more on
the ground level, right?
More working in the trencheswith designers, with developers,
with the product teams.
So that's how I got my start indigital health.
(02:39):
How I came into diabetes wasactually just a function of my
exploration in the space ofdigital health.
So, you know, diabetes is suchan interesting and unique area
and specialty of medicinebecause I think so often those
who end up in the specialty havea direct connection.
(03:00):
They know someone withdiabetes, they have a personal
connection to the disease.
In my case, it was really thetechnology that actually pulled
me in and grabbed me.
So Sweet Spot, as I'm surewe'll discuss more, is all about
making use of the power of CGMsand insulin pumps, making sure
we are fully utilizing thattechnology.
(03:23):
And so that's really what gotme into the diabetes space.
David Kerr (03:26):
Well, it's great to have really smart, young, driven
people in diabetes.
So what is the problem thatSweet Spot is trying to solve in
a nutshell?
Amiad Fredman (03:37):
Sweet Spot is solving the problem of data
accessibility for CGMs andinsulin pumps and data impact.
We know that these devices areincredibly powerful, obviously
moving from a one-point metricof a hemoglobin A1C or a blood
(04:00):
glucose measurement from afinger stick to now information
every five minutes.
But how is that continuous datavisualized and digested by the
healthcare system and by thephysician to make treatment
changes?
A lot of times that data isjust kind of acted on
(04:25):
reactively, right?
Every three, four, six monthswhen the patient comes in for
their visit with theirendocrinologist.
And that's good.
You have obviously moreinsight, and maybe a patient is
more motivated and is able tolook at the numbers on their
own.
But that continuous andcloud-enabled ability that comes
(04:47):
with the devices is somewhatlost in the healthcare system.
And so Sweet Spot was createdto ensure that we take advantage
of the remote monitoringcapabilities that CGMs and
insulin pumps bring with themtoday, and to ensure that
doctors can be proactive intaking care of their patients
(05:10):
who are on these devices andhave the support to do so rather
than reactive.
David Klonoff (05:15):
Amy, and how can a patient achieve the sweet spot
experience?
Where do they go?
What type of a doctor wouldthey see?
Amiad Fredman (05:23):
So sweet spot partners typically with
endocrinologists.
We partner with privatepractice endocrinologists all
over the country.
We're working with more healthsystems now as well.
And so we actually start withthe provider.
Primary care absolutely is onthe table as well.
You know, more uh people livingwith diabetes are being managed
(05:44):
by their primary care providersevery day.
And so wherever the patientgoes to receive their diabetes
care, that's where Sweet Spot isstarting at.
And it is with the providerswho are looking for help,
essentially, in being able tomanage and monitor their
patients on a CGM and doing soremotely.
David Klonoff (06:04):
Well, you mentioned that you're very
interested in CGM data.
What exactly do you providethat maybe someone without Sweet
Spot would not be providing?
Amiad Fredman (06:14):
So when Sweet Spot started, we really thought
of ourselves as a softwarecompany.
We started with the technology.
We built a system for doctorsand care teams to use that, you
know, was invisible to thepatient.
It was to get at that dataaccessibility and make sure that
doctors can see who they needto reach out to, who needs that
(06:38):
care in between their visits.
But we quickly learned thateven if you had the greatest,
you know, innovation andtechnology, and we think
certainly Sweet Spot is that,it's not really worth all that
much if the provider or theclinic does not set up with the
resources to use it.
(06:59):
And we know that time is alimited resource in healthcare.
And so what I would say am mostproud of with Sweet Spot is our
clinical team.
So we have an entire clinicalservice that we provide with
Sweet Spot.
And we like to say we onlybring on really the best of the
best.
And I think we we truly do, anincredible team of diabetes
(07:22):
educators that every day arekeeping an eye out on all
patients who are part of theSweet Spot program and reaching
out to them at least once amonth or more if needed, if
their data tells us to.
If their data is saying, hey,this patient can't wait until
the next time they come in theoffice.
(07:42):
They we need to reach out now.
We need to adjust their insulinnow.
And so that is the sweet spotexperience.
It feels a lot like, and maybeyou like this term, maybe you
don't, but it feels a lot likewhat's known as concierge
medicine.
It is going kind of thatproactive above and beyond mile,
(08:02):
and you know, I almost like aguardian angel sometimes.
I use.
And patients say that.
They say, wow, I've never hadmy doctor reach out to me
before.
And and those are the types ofcomments that really motivate us
and keep us going.
David Kerr (08:17):
I mean, just to clarify though, do you have, if
you're a person with diabetes,do you have to be on a pump and
you have to be on the CGM toqualify for sweet spot?
Or are you because of theexplosion in the interest of
CGM, even outside of insulin,let alone pumps, what about
(08:38):
those folks?
Well, would they benefit fromthis kind of interaction?
Amiad Fredman (08:43):
Right.
So Sweet Spot in in its currentstate today, the CGM is the
starting point.
Being on a CGM is what tellsSweet Spot that they are that
this is a person who is eligiblefor this program.
Now, to your point, more peopleare coming on CGMs than ever
before.
And this new standards of careand diabetes was recently
(09:04):
released, and it is encouragingand continues to encourage the
CGM adoption, getting CGMs notjust for your type one patients,
but for your individuals withtype two.
We're seeing more pre-diabetesnow having CGMs as well.
So these individuals are all,you know, eligible for the Sweet
(09:25):
Spot program.
And, you know, in the future,could Sweet Spot, you know, take
another step and look at thediabetes as a whole?
And, you know, we're actuallylooking into chronic care
management right now.
And so, yes, that is certainlysomething that is on the table,
but we really want to be at thatforefront of innovation.
(09:46):
And at the end of the day, wepassionately believe in these
devices and see firsthand theimpact they can have in
someone's life who lives withdiabetes.
And so that's where we trulybelieve is where we want to be
spending our time.
David Kerr (10:00):
And and also practically, what about other
data, other inputs?
Do people have to keep fooddiarrhees?
Do they have to photographtheir food?
Do they have to wear an AppleWatch?
What other stuff do people haveto provide a sweet spot in in
order for your team tounderstand the glucose profiles?
Amiad Fredman (10:20):
It was really important to us from the very
beginning to not require anybehavior change from the
patient.
So there is no new device thatthey need to wear.
There is no new app that theyneed to download.
Whatever they're doing today isfine.
As long as they're sharingtheir data with their provider,
you know, their DEXCOM data withtheir provider, that is where
(10:43):
Sweet Spot is coming in.
Now, if you have a patient whois particularly motivated and
within their DEXCOM Clarity appis keeping that food log, that
of course is only going to helptheir diabetes educator with
that context and going toprovide more insight.
But very intentionally, wedidn't want the individual or
(11:06):
the patient to have to do morethan they're already doing
because already living withdiabetes is much more than
someone who doesn't, right?
They're already making muchmore decisions on a daily basis
than someone who isn't livingwith the disease.
David Klonoff (11:20):
Aaron Powell, there's a new method for
analyzing how well a person isdoing based on their CGM data
called the glycemia risk index.
Are you using that at SweetSpot?
And if so, what do you do withthat information?
Amiad Fredman (11:36):
Yes.
So the glycemia risk index orGRI has been a really important
and valuable metric for us atSweet Spot.
In taking in all this patientdata, it's very easy to get
overwhelmed to have that dataoverload.
GRI is exactly what we werelooking for as a single metric
(11:59):
and a metric of triage that youcan use that is a compound
metric for all of the time inrange data, time below, time
above, time in range.
And it shows you one numberthat you can then really sort
on, essentially, your patientpopulation to get a sense of,
all right, who's who's thepatient I need to focus on
today?
Who are the five?
(12:21):
Even more than that, becauseglycemia risk index is typically
conveyed in this graph oralmost like heat map type of
display, it's a wonderful visualindicator to the user, who is
the clinician, to be able tojust quickly see without needing
to do any math in their head,okay, what's going on with this
(12:44):
patient?
How does that compare to thispatient?
This patient's having some moreissues with hyperglycemia, this
patient's having more issueswith hypoglycemia, and the
relative risk that those levelsof hyper hypoglycemia are
contributing to their overallglycemic health.
So it's a very powerful, almostvisual triage tool that we've
(13:06):
been able to tap into.
And it's also a very nice,colorful tool that adds a nice
burst of color to our sweet spotplatforms that's very
eye-catching, which, from adesign standpoint, actually is
significant.
So we use GRI every single dayas a method of triage, and we
also use GRI as our main metricto capture clinical outcomes.
(13:27):
Because again, it is one metricthat we can say for our
patients who started in thisarea of uh glycemic, glycemic
risk according to their GRI,they, you know, on average
improve to this, you know,glycemic uh risk index or zone
of GRI.
And so from a patient, if anindividual basis, for each
(13:51):
patient, we're able to see howtheir GRI changes over time.
But then also from a populationstandpoint, we're able to see
how the sweet spot interventioncontributes to GRI changes over
time from a populationstandpoint.
David Klonoff (14:05):
Amiens, we're hearing a lot now about
artificial intelligence beingused to analyze uh data streams
and reach conclusions that wouldbe too complicated for a human,
even with a computer.
What do you think is the futureof AI for diabetes?
Amiad Fredman (14:22):
Well, I think there are a lot of implications
for AI in the world, inhealthcare, in diabetes.
I almost divide it into twoaspects that are particularly
exciting for me.
The first one is what youmentioned, Dr.
Klonoff, which is actually, youknow, AI is something that has
been this in the sphere ofthings for the past decade or
(14:44):
so, which is AI and data, right?
How can we take raw glucosevalues?
Of course, we're getting thisdata every five minutes, every
one minute.
And based on that, fine trendsand warning signs that maybe
would be difficult, if notimpossible, to spot from the
naked eye.
So again, it comes from thatproactive standpoint.
(15:05):
That's very exciting and comesback to data, data, data.
Data is key.
And then there is more of thebroad applications of AI, which
comes into the workload andworkflow aspect of AI and
healthcare.
And that is something that I'mparticularly excited about.
(15:26):
You know, one of the reasons Igot into digital health is
because I, as someone who is aself-proclaimed nerd, right?
And someone who's always beenpassionate about technology, it
drove me absolutely crazy inmedical school how technology
was often associated with an eyeroll, right?
It made doctors' lives harder.
(15:46):
The EMR, you know, how manymore clicks do I need to go in?
From the patient experience, weall know what it's like seeing
a doctor and they're spendingmore time, uh, sometimes looking
in the computer than speakingwith the patient.
These are things that have beennegative implications of
technology's use case inhealthcare.
I think there's a potential forAI to reverse some of that and
(16:10):
to uplift the burden, theadministrative part of
healthcare and being a physicianand bring the provider back to
the face-to-face, eye-to-eyewith the patient as well.
So both of those things arethings that I'm incredibly
excited about and that we'reactively looking into.
It's a sweet spot.
David Kerr (16:26):
I mean, I've got a couple of practical questions
again.
So, from a physician point ofview, and actually I love the
idea that primary care is goingto get more involved in CGM and
automated insulin deliverysystems and so on and so forth.
So, how is what's the businessmodel here?
And at this moment in time, howpopular is Sweet Spot?
Amiad Fredman (16:48):
That's a good question.
It's a good question.
Well, I'll take the the latterpart of your question first.
In terms of popularity, it'sbeen really humbling to see
Sweet Spot picking up steam andbecoming more of a well-known
name.
Um, you know, we go to variousconferences in diabetes, the um
(17:08):
uh technology conferences, theuh uh ADCS, uh ADA, of course.
And we've been going to thesenow for the past couple of
years.
And it's always exciting to seethe feedback and the reaction.
But every single year we'reseeing more individuals coming
to us saying, Oh, my friend toldme about Sweet Spot.
(17:29):
They said this is something Ihad to come see.
And so that is neat seeing thatname, you know, starting to
become a little bit morewell-known, certainly as a
startup founder.
That's that's very that's veryhumbling.
And then, David, your firstpart of your question, remind
me.
The business model, I mean thebusiness model.
Right.
David Kerr (17:45):
How do you who pays for this?
So what do they pay and thattype of stuff?
Amiad Fredman (17:49):
Yeah.
So that was also something thatvery early on in the early days
of Sweet Spot was reallyimportant to us that this had to
make sense, not just from aclinical standpoint, not just
from a workflow standpoint, butfrom a financial standpoint,
from the perspective of theprovider as well.
And so Sweet Spot's pricingmodel and business model
(18:11):
essentially says to theprovider, you don't pay anything
for Sweet Spot.
Sweet Spot is bringing inrevenue for the practice based
on this new type of caredeliverance that is being given,
this care in-between visits,remote patient monitoring,
chronic care management,whatever the various CPT codes
(18:32):
that are able to be utilized.
That is a new revenue streamthat Sweet Spot is enabling for
the provider and the practice.
And actually, it is only basedon the work that is completed
that Sweet Spot generates anyrevenue for itself as the
company.
And so that was something thatwas really important to us to be
able to really be hand in handin terms of success with the
(18:57):
practice and the provider andsay, we don't make a dime unless
we're working for you.
And our success is inherentlytied to the providers and the
practice's success.
David Klonoff (19:08):
And what's it like practicing medicine in St.
Louis, Missouri?
Amiad Fredman (19:12):
Well, my version of uh, I guess my method of
medicine practice looks a lotdifferent than the regular
physician in St.
Louis, Missouri.
So I am full-time engaged inSweet Spot.
So people ask my specialty, Ilike to say startups, remote
monitoring.
And so at this point in time,I've I've actually taken my full
(19:33):
dedication and focus ontomanaging the company and the
product and the clinical team.
But that's that's, you know, Ithink important.
Uh, you know, easy to kind ofmake the joke about that there
in terms of the specialty.
But I think in today's age,what does digital health mean?
And I think we will see moreand more physicians finding
(19:58):
careers for themselves innon-traditional ways.
I mean, there's a real need forthat.
And I certainly uh, you know,uh see that every day.
David Klonoff (20:08):
Amien, I would like to thank you for
participating in our podcasttoday on behalf of me and Dr.
David Kerr.
You're one of our firstspeakers on Diabetes Technology
Starts podcast, which is forstartups and uh your company is
a startup.
Uh, we wish you success.
And uh the Diabetes TechnologyStarts podcast is available at
(20:33):
the Diabetes Technology Societywebsite and at Spotify and at
other sources of podcasts.
I look forward to seeing youagain, and for now, to the
audience, goodbye.
We'll see you later.
Goodbye.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe
When a group of women from all over the country realise they all dated the same prolific romance scammer they vow to bring him to justice. In this brand new season of global number 1 hit podcast, The Girlfriends, Anna Sinfield meets a group of funny, feisty, determined women who all had the misfortune of dating a mysterious man named Derek Alldred. Trust Me Babe is a story about the protective forces of gossip, gut instinct, and trusting your besties and the group of women who took matters into their own hands to take down a fraudster when no one else would listen. If you’re affected by any of the themes in this show, our charity partners NO MORE have available resources at https://www.nomore.org. To learn more about romance scams, and to access specialised support, visit https://fightcybercrime.org/ The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/. You can listen to new episodes of The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Open your Apple Podcasts app, search for “iHeart True Crime+, and subscribe today!