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Do you think a health app can help you manage you diabetes?

Posted , 3 users are following.

laurine91497
laurine91497

Is there anyone who uses the Apple Health Records app to manage their diabetes? If you're an Android user, would you be interested in getting the same service? I'm not selling anything, I'm a freelance journalist and I'd like to get patient experience, people who are interested in getting their health records on their phones and how it has changed their lives or at least in some capacities.

Thank you,

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • jx41870
    jx41870 laurine91497

    Posted

    I don't, I keep my records with pen and paper, and my BP monitor keeps a record, too, but so far mine have been incompatible with my endocrinologist's readers, LOL.

    In principle I think keeping records online is extremely promising and will become standard in a few years and we'll look back to "the old days" with the kind of horror we now have for medicine in the 19th century, or 9th century.

    But it's also going to take a lot of getting used to, by patients, system builders, doctors and other medical staff, insurers, etc.

    • laurine91497
      laurine91497 jx41870

      Posted

      Thank you for sharing! May I ask you if you have an iPhone or an Android?

    • laurine91497
      laurine91497 jx41870

      Posted

      Thank you! Do you think that you use a pen and paper because there is a lack of trustful and useful apps or do you think it's a choice?

    • jx41870
      jx41870 laurine91497

      Posted

      Do you think that you use a pen and paper because there is a lack

      of trustful and useful apps or do you think it's a choice?

      I'm of a certain age so don't feel compelled to put my whole life into my phone just because! What would it need to capture? BG readings, sure. There are bluetooth meters now and they come with apps - though even the cheapest meters have their own memory and even graphs!

      They should capture meals and activity and other drugs and random notes and comments, illness, even stress. And then what? Well, I have most of that on paper (not every meal item). I don't know how many people want to record all that.

      But really, for many medical conditions, such logging is in theory desirable. But I'll tell you this, doctors aren't really trained to look for this information, or to listen to it, or to do anything useful with it. It's not what they do. So some kind of intermediary, human or robot, is needed.

      I see there are a number of "diabetes management" companies starting up to do just that kind of thing, under the heading of "wellness", with apps and online services and even human operators to talk to. I think this is very promising, but I also see that so far, the results have been underwhelming.

      There are also issues of "trust" as you mention.

      Until and unless the doctors really buy into this, I think the apps are a bit redundant, more about training patients than actually doing anything that a paper log isn't just as good at.

  • mjf3814
    mjf3814 laurine91497

    Posted

    I am a recently diagnosed Type 2 diabetic with instructions to lose weight, do more exercise and reduce carbs. I have web membership to a diet and exercise measuring device, which also offers a free app download with the online membership. The online information has greatly helped me monitor my condition and follow my GP instructions. But I can't make use of an app as there is no cell reception in my village even for those people who bought boosters. So, I do not even have smart phone - no point!

    Then I hear supermarkets plan to go till free and do everything on your phone with little regard for the hundreds of thousands in the same position as all people in my village and other remote areas. It's the same with all the added internet and banking security requiring text messages to be sent to phones for verification. So you can't buy online in your own home! So yes I would be interested, if I had a phone that worked where I live!

    • laurine91497
      laurine91497 mjf3814

      Posted

      Wow interesting! Thank you for sharing! Where is your village? (or which state/county—I would understand if you don't want to give the name on a public forum).

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