AHRQ Report Shows Some Mobile Apps Improve Diabetes Patients’ Health, but Hundreds Remain Unstudied

A new AHRQ report on smart phone applications to help people with diabetes manage their health found that, although consumers have access to hundreds of apps for diabetes management, only a few of these technologies have been evaluated for their effectiveness. An article based on AHRQ’s report was published recently in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. While five apps were shown to improve levels of HbA1c, other apps studied were shown either to reduce episodes of blood sugar levels being too high or too low; reduce low blood sugar episodes while reducing triglyceride levels and improving treatment satisfaction; or improve blood glucose levels, diabetes knowledge and self-care behaviors. Access the article abstractand press release.