NYC to track diabetes cases

New York City is becoming the first American city to track people with diabetes.  The new program is based on a controversial proposal by Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden which will use city databases to monitor people with the disease and allow warnings to be issued if they appear to be having problems managing their blood sugar levels. Medical laboratories in the city will be required to forward the results of blood sugar tests to the city health department. New York's effort is believed to be one of the most aggressive disease monitoring programs developed for a non-contagious disease. Because reporting is mandatory, critics call the plan intrusive and a potential violation of the civil rights of diabetics. Supporters counter that thousands of lives could be saved.

- see this article from the AP