The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted an alert this month warning that patients who use continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), insulin pumps, automated insulin dosing systems, and other diabetes devices are at risk of not receiving or not hearing audible alerts from their smartphones regarding their devices. A missed alert could possibly lead to severe hypoglycemia, severe hyperglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, and death, the agency says. Because apps for diabetes CGMs and other devices allow users to configure alert settings, those settings may not be configured in the best way, therefore, critical safety alerts can be missed, even when the user believes the alerts would be obvious.
Health data obsessive disorder: It stands to reason that smartphone operating system updates come along regularly and may not support every medical device app with each new iteration. Making patients responsible for checking with device manufacturers and phone system providers on compatibility could be an impossible task, so FDA is working with manufacturers to solve for app alert variables. Read more about patient relationships with their devices in 2 recent letters from the Editor in Chief of JUCM, Joshua Russell, MD, MSc, ELS, FACEP, FCUCM: ‘Health Data Obsessive Disorder’—A Modern Epidemic and Managing Health Data Obsessive Disorder Presentation in Urgent Care