Of Sugar and Beyond: In Russia, Digital Platform Expands Support for Diabetes Care
In Russia, a unified digital platform Pro Diabet has been launched to support people living with diabetes, offering trusted medical information, self-management tools and continuous guidance beyond the doctor’s office.
In Russia, a unified information resource for people with diabetes has been launched – the platform Pro Diabet. It was developed by specialists at the National Medical Research Center for Endocrinology named after Academician I. I. Dedov under the Russian Ministry of Health, as part of the federal project “Fight Against Diabetes.”
Since December 2025, the Russian service Pro Diabet has been open for public use. It is not just a medical website but a comprehensive digital environment for patients, doctors and their families. The platform brings together educational materials, expert recommendations, tests, guides, webinars and a “diabetes school.” Users can maintain a personal self-monitoring diary, receive prompts and better understand the specifics of the condition. All of this makes the disease more manageable and less intimidating.
The platform includes sections with expert answers, a patient glossary, materials on different types of diabetes, explanations of common myths and detailed articles on how to live with the condition. Physicians, in turn, can use medical calculators and assessment scales to evaluate patient status and build a complete clinical picture.
How It Started
Work on the resource began in summer 2025. At that time, an educational channel ProDiabet was launched, which gradually became a communication hub for patients and specialists. Within the first few months, the audience exceeded 4,000 users, and publications reached more than 300,000 views. This demonstrates the high demand for reliable education around diabetes. People do not want to fear the disease – they want to learn how to live with it as comfortably and as long as possible.
The project has now entered full operation and has become part of an emerging digital ecosystem for managing chronic diseases.
Why It Matters for Patients
Diabetes is a condition where much depends on the individual. Managing diet, monitoring glucose levels, adhering to therapy, avoiding stress and maintaining regular consultations with specialists become part of daily life.
However, even after visiting a doctor, patients often have many questions: what foods are allowed, how to respond to fluctuations in glucose levels and how to use modern glucose monitoring systems. Online information is often contradictory or inaccurate.
A unified official resource provides verified information from a trusted medical source. At the same time, such services help build habits of regular self-monitoring. Personal diaries, educational content and expert consultations enable patients to manage their health more consciously and prevent complications.
There is a common saying – “learn to live with your disease.” Physicians note that patients who accept their chronic condition and work with it – by following a diet and understanding their vulnerabilities – tend to live longer and with a higher quality of life than those who respond with denial or anxiety.
Digital Healthcare as Part of the System
The emergence of the platform reflects the broader development of digital services in healthcare. Russia is steadily building an infrastructure in which patients receive support not only in the doctor’s office but also online.
The federal diabetes program emphasizes active patient education and increased awareness. At the same time, the national digital platform Zdorovye (Health) is being developed, where systems for monitoring chronic diseases are planned to be introduced by 2030.
Against this backdrop, the Pro Diabet resource becomes an important component, helping reduce the burden on in-person consultations. The better patients understand their condition and can manage it independently, the fewer emergency situations and complications arise.
Global Context
Diabetes remains one of the most significant global health challenges. According to the International Diabetes Federation, about 589 million adults currently live with the condition. By mid-century, this number could exceed 850 million.
Annual treatment costs are already estimated at around $1 trillion. As a result, many countries are developing digital services that help people monitor their condition and manage the disease more effectively.
At present, Pro Diabet primarily serves educational and informational functions. However, in the coming years, the platform’s capabilities may expand significantly. A logical next step is integration with self-monitoring devices.
The project also has external potential. What can be exported is the platform architecture itself: educational programs, digital patient portals and methodologies for remote chronic disease management. Such solutions may be in demand in CIS countries, among Russian-speaking communities abroad and in emerging healthcare markets.
