Do you have diabetes? Here are some apps that can help you manage the disease

Strict metabolic control is necessary for people with diabetes to slow down or prevent serious complications from the disease. Today there is a wide range of mobile apps that enable more accurate monitoring of diabetes, with functions ranging from data control and recording to food intake recording and recommending the insulin dose to take.

This article sets out a collection of the diabetes apps approved by the TIC Salut Social Foundation’s mobile app certification service: FreeStyle Libre 3, HumanITcar, Eversense CGM, MiniMed Mobile, Guardian, SocialDiabetes, Freestyle Librelink, mySugr, One Touch Reveal, and Contour Diabetes. This service guarantees that all of these apps meet minimum quality standards in areas such as usability and accessibility, technology, security, functionality and content.

What do the diabetes apps offer?

All of the diabetes apps that have obtained the TIC Salut Social Foundation’s quality seal are free of charge and enable you to monitor and record data such as blood glucose levels, weight and the medication you take, among others. In many cases, they are synchronised with capillary blood glucose measurement devices, so they automatically record the data, thus avoiding transcription errors.

As Carme Pratdepàdua,the head of mHealth at the TIC Salut Social Foundation, explains: “Having all the data recorded and classified over time makes it possible to produce charts and reports that provide real data, better understand your health condition, and share accurate information with the team of leading health professionals.”

Apart from monitoring, there are also apps that allow you to record the number of carbohydrates in the food you have eaten. This can be done manually, with photographs or by scanning barcodes. This functionality makes it possible to later adjust the insulin dose based on what you have eaten and your blood sugar level, inside or outside the app. In the latter case, apps are considered a medical device when they cross-reference blood sugar and food intake data with other biometric data and the history of the person with diabetes to suggest the amount of insulin they need to take.

Diabetes apps certified by the TIC Salut Social Foundation

Details of the 10 mobile apps approved by the Certification Service are provided below. The links provided for each app take you to its file in the TIC Salut Social Foundation App Directory. There you will find specific information about all certified diabetes apps, the developer’s details, download links to the App Store and Google Play, and other health apps that have passed the certification process or are recommended by health centres in Catalonia.

• FreeStyle Libre 3: this measures glucose levels in people with diabetes when it is used with the FreeStyle Libre 3 sensor, the most advanced continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology designed to adapt to your life. Certification date: March 2023.
• HumanITcare: this allows health professionals to remotely monitor their patients’ physical and mental condition, through tests and measurements of clinical variables such as temperature, glucose, heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure and weight. Revision date: January 2023.
• Eversense CGM: a long-term continuous glucose monitor. The app receives and displays glucose data from the Eversense smart transmitter. Certification date: December 2022.
• MiniMed Mobile: a simple and intuitive system to help you view and interact with data from your MiniMed 700 insulin pump and glucose monitor. Certification date: December 2022.
• Guardian: GuardianTM 4, a smart continuous glucose monitoring system with a transmitter and a sensor that does not require finger pricks. Certification date: December 2022.
• SocialDiabetes: this enables self-management of diabetes, aiding the calculation of the required insulin dose and providing better glycaemic monitoring. Certification date: March 2022.
• Freestyle Librelink: approved for use with the FreeStyle Libre and FreeStyle Libre 2 continuous monitoring sensors. It allows you to calculate your glucose level by scanning the sensor with your phone. Certification date: July 2021.
• mySugr: this can be linked with Accu-Chek devices and automatically record their data, as well as diet, including carbohydrate intake, and the medication you take. Certification date: December 2020.
• One Touch Reveal: this works with the OneTouch Verio Reflect System and with the OneTouch Select Plus Flex, OneTouch Verio Flex and OneTouch Ultra Plus Flex meters. Certification date: April 2022.
• Contour Diabetes: it synchronises with the Contour glucometer that performs a blood glucose-related analysis. Certification date: March 2020.

The table below shows the certified apps’ functionalities, ordered by certification date (from newest to oldest):

About diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces, as explained by the World Health Organization. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose. Hyperglycaemia occurs when this regulation fails. In the long term this can lead to complications such as hearts attacks, strokes, kidney failure, blindness and amputation of the lower limbs. It is crucial to have good metabolic control to prevent or slow down these complications.

According to the Spanish Diabetes Society, one in seven adults in Spain has diabetes. It is estimated that around 30% are undiagnosed. According to the figures, Spain is the European country with the second-highest prevalence of the disease. In 90% of cases it is type 2 diabetes, which is linked to poor use of insulin by the body and is often associated with obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure and blood lipid alterations. As pointed out by the Catalan Government Health Channel, the fact that people with type 2 diabetes do not initially need to administer insulin does not mean that it may not become necessary, as the disease develops, if proper monitoring and treatment, among other actions, are not carried out.