A new digital platform in Denmark gives medical professionals across primary and secondary care access to the same comprehensive information about their diabetes patients for the first time. Nurses, doctors and medical specialists can see their patients’ full medical history, treatment goals, hospital visits and medication. The platform will soon be available for other disease areas beyond diabetes.
The platform, called SAMBLIK (loosely translated as “a common view”), was developed by Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus (SDCA), in collaboration with healthcare professionals from hospitals, general practices and municipalities. Evidence so far suggests that it can save time, improve collaboration and increase the quality of care.
“I can save a lot of time in the long run with SAMBLIK, because I’m presented with a lot of the information that I previously had to hunt for,” says Gitte Nielsen, a consulting nurse at Trustrup general practice, which is involved in testing the platform. “This frees up time for the patients and ultimately improves the quality of the treatment.”
SDCA is one of seven Steno Diabetes Centers across Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands. The centres are run by the public sector and supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
Making ‘everyday life easier’
SAMBLIK is based on national health data infrastructure and is currently being tested in four regions across Denmark. This follows a smaller scale pilot project that showed promising results.
“We are now testing whether this also works in real everyday life, where doctors and nurses are under pressure,” says Morten Bonde Klausen, who is project manager at SDCA and responsible for the current trial. “It should not be just another system – it should be something that helps makes everyday life easier and gives more time for the patients.”
The aim of SAMBLIK is to present data in a visually clear and clinically meaningful form, with a focus on what is most relevant in each context.
“It’s not just about access to information, but about making the information useful,” explains Klausen. “For example, doctors are shown how changes in medication correlate with the development of blood sugar levels – and whether the patient even collects their prescribed medication.”
Better decisions and fewer referrals
Gitte Nielsen at Trustrup general practice is impressed with the tool.
“I can quickly get an overview of long-term blood sugar, kidney function and whether they have been to the eye doctor, for example,” says Nielsen. “It makes it much easier to make informed decisions.”
She has also seen how SAMBLIK can result in fewer hospital visits for diabetes patients. Previously, if a GP called an endocrinologist for input regarding a patient, it was often difficult to resolve the issue as they were working with different sets of information, and the patient would need to be referred to the hospital.
“With SAMBLIK, the GP and the endocrinologists look at the same patient data and can resolve patient problems more quickly, thus avoiding many trips to the hospital for a patient group that may be vulnerable and not always able to cope with the long journey and having to deal with new healthcare personnel,” says Nielsen.
First step – but not the last
An updated version of SAMBLIK is being launched in April 2026. This is a generic version of the platform that can be used across multiple disease areas. SAMBLIK is also currently being integrated into the Danish national health IT infrastructure.
“SAMBLIK is not just a diabetes solution, but a generic, disease-independent IT platform that can be used across disease areas,” says Annelli Sandbæk, head of cross-sectoral collaborations at SDCA. “The diabetes area is the first step, but not the last.”
Further information
Novo Nordisk Foundation, Judith Vonberg, Communications Manager,
+45 4172 7925, jvo@novo.dk
Photo: Gitte Nielsen, consulting nurse at Trustrup general practice
Credit: Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus