A high proportion of people in the UK are overweight or obese, increasing their risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19. Meanwhile, social distancing and self-isolation impact face-to-face weight management services.

The use of technology is a good answer to providing services, but how can we provide evidence-based care, combat misinformation and ensure a rapid rollout of technology that is safe, effective, and does not put the public at risk of harm?

Our report, developed with The Association of UK Dietitians (BDA), outlines the situation and shares advice and best practice on how to embed digital health in weight management services.

Click on the PDF icon below to download the Digital in Weight Management Services Report. Discover:

• Why do only 21% of weight management apps meet standards?
• What does the clinical evidence say about weight management apps?
• How does the public perceive digital health for weight management?
• Which 10 apps should you know about?
• What practical steps can you take?

If you are experiencing any issues with downloading the report, or want to know more, please get in touch with us at hello@orchahealth.com.

As there are 4.7 million people in the UK with diabetes, management of this condition now makes up 10% of the NHS budget.¹ Health apps give patients tools to self-manage, reducing pressure on the NHS.

But how do you find the right ones? ORCHA has reviewed 229 diabetes apps, and 82% score below our quality threshold, indicating a market of low quality apps.

Today, Dr Tom Micklewright discusses his views on three apps for managing diabetes that have scored well in ORCHA’s Review.

In these videos, Dr Tom Micklewright looks at three top-scoring diabetes apps, giving his opinion on their features, benefits, and areas for improvement.

Intellin app demonstration: 

Dr Micklewright demonstrates the Intellin app, shares his views, and explores how the app simplifies the management of diabetes and identifies the risk of developing complications. Intellin gives personalised predictions on users’ highest risk areas and provides tips on how to prevent these complications.

Click below to watch the video:

Click here to view ORCHA’s review of Intellin on our App Library.

Diabetes Forum app demonstration: 

Dr Micklewright next looks at the way in which the Diabetes Forum app provides a moderated peer-to-peer support network to people with diabetes (considered vulnerable under COVID-19). This includes elderly people, friends and caregivers. The app can be distributed through a mobile and web app:

Click here to access ORCHA’s review of Diabetes Forum on our App Library.

Liva UK app demonstration:

For his insight into another top-scoring diabetes app, Dr Micklewright demonstrates how Liva UK provides personalised health coaching programmes to patients at risk of developing, or currently living with, chronic diseases such as Pre and Type 2 Diabetes:

Click here to read ORCHA’s review of Liva UK on our App Library.

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Sources

1) Diabetes UK: Us, diabetes and a lot of facts and stats

According to Diabetes UK, 4.7 million people in the UK have diabetes, a number which has more than doubled in the last 20 years. About 90% of people with diabetes have Type 2, about 8% of people with diabetes have Type 1, and about 2% of people have rarer types of diabetes. Considering that the NHS spends at least £10 billion a year on diabetes, making up 10% of its entire budget, it is becoming increasingly important that patients have access to additional forms of diabetes management care that don’t rely solely on the NHS.

As well as reducing the strain on the NHS, more resources are needed so that people can learn to self-manage their diabetes. On average, diabetes sufferers spend around 3 hours with a healthcare professional every year, meaning that, for the remaining 8,757 hours, they must manage their diabetes themselves. It is here that diabetes apps find their place as diabetes management tools.

But what are the best diabetes apps?

With over 300,000 health apps on the market, many of these aimed at people with diabetes, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to know which ones are trustworthy and effective. As the trusted source for health app advice, ORCHA has reviewed 60 diabetes apps so that users and health professionals can easily find the best diabetes app for their or their patient’s health needs.

ORCHA’s App Library cuts through the noise by showing which apps, out of the thousands available, are safe to use. Scored on Clinical Assurance, Data Privacy and User Experience, ORCHA has reviewed diabetes tracker/log apps, diabetes management apps, gestational diabetes apps, and diabetes apps that go alongside medical devices.

ORCHA’s Top 5 Diabetes Apps

Diabetes apps can aid condition-management, give patients an informed understanding of diabetes, and, thus, provide additional support to professional medical advice and treatment. Below, we look at 5 of the top apps for diabetes management, based on our ORCHA Review:

• RetinaRisk – The Risk Diabetic Retinopathy Calculator (DRC) is designed for people with diabetes, and calculates patients’ percentage risk of developing sight-threatening retinopathy over time. These risk estimates are based on each individual’s clinical data. With an ORCHA Score of 88% on both iOS and Android, RetinaRisk is the highest scoring app designed specifically for individuals with diabetes.
• mySugr – The mySugr App is a free diabetes logbook, allowing users to keep their diabetes data under control. As a diabetes journal app, it includes a blood sugar tracker, carb logger, bolus calculator (EU only) and an estimated HbA1c for each individual. The app achieved an ORCHA Score of 87% on Android and 85% on iOS.
• Dario Diabetes Management – Dario Diabetes Management is a diabetes monitor app that allows people with diabetes to keep a record of their diabetes history, from a logbook and timeline of blood glucose measurements, to the ability to share results and statistics with chosen family members or healthcare team. Users can also enable Emergency Hypo Alerts with GPS Locator, which is a useful safety feature. The app can connect to Dario’s Blood Glucose Monitoring System, a smart pocket-sized device that automatically records blood glucose measurements and provides analysis. Dario Diabetes Management achieved an ORCHA Score of 84% on iOS and 80% on Android.
• GDm-Health – GDm-Health is gestational diabetes app for women with or at risk of gestational diabetes, as well as those who are pregnant with pre-existing diabetes. Users can upload and track blood glucose readings. These readings can be viewed as a list, in diary-view, in a graph, and can be filtered to show trends. Users can also provide additional notes to their care team, and receive care guidance from their care professional direct to the app. The app’s ORCHA Score for iOS is 83%.
• Dip.io – To be used with the designated Dip.io kit, Dip.io turns your smartphone into a urine dipstick analyser. The Dip.io app and kit can aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of metabolic or systemic diseases, and can thus be used as a diabetes monitor app, as well as for the general evaluation of health. Dip.io achieved an ORCHA Score of 76% on iOS.

Take a look at how we are working with West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group to integrate health apps into their Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) in order to help prevent diabetes.

Due to our continual re-review process, all app scores are subject to change. As such, we’d always encourage you to view our app reviews on our App Library, as this reflects Live data and app updates which are continuously changing. Our re-review process ensures that the most up-to-date information for the latest version of an app can be accessed via our App Library.

There are currently 3.4 million people in England with Type 2 Diabetes and 200,000 new diagnoses made every year.  Unlike Type 1 Diabetes which cannot be prevented and is not linked to lifestyle, Type 2 Diabetes is largely preventable through lifestyle changes.  A lifelong condition, it leaves the body unable to absorb glucose, often causing complications including heart disease, stroke, limb loss and blindness.

To support its prevention, it is possible to spot if someone is at greater risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes; for example, if their blood sugar level is above the normal range.  This is where the Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) then comes in.

Led by NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK, Reed Momenta runs the NHS DPP in regions across the UK including West Lancashire.  ‘Healthier You’ is a 40-week support programme which helps people make changes to their life that can prevent Diabetes.  Once referred by their GP because they have high blood sugar levels, people are given a Health and Wellbeing Coach. They then go on a journey through 18 group sessions which cover nutrition, exercise and behaviour change, and lead to a healthier lifestyle and lower blood sugar levels.

Commissioned by West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group, the ‘Healthier You’ programme has been established in West Lancashire, where more than 5,000 people are believed to have Diabetes; higher than the national average level.  To help overcome often life-long habits and embed new long-term behaviour change amongst participants, the team identified that health apps could strengthen the course.  Mindful that any change to the programme must be based on evidence, it partnered with ORCHA who, as experts in the field, would help the team identify and select apps that fitted the programme and were safe, clinically assured and easy to use.

Alongside advice and worksheets, participants are introduced to apps that will help them apply the recommended changes.  So now, during the session on being more active, they have fun comparing each other’s results on Accupedo Pedometer, a simple free app that counts your steps.  Or, after learning the importance of knowing their sugar intake, they are encouraged to use the Change4Life Food Scanner, to know exactly how much sugar is in what they buy from the supermarket.

The introduction of apps has been successful; uptake has been high, and coaches report that apps are helping to better embed practical changes into participants’ lives.  Later in the course, participants also increasingly reference information from an app rather than asking a coach, which is a good sign for self-management skills which are important for long-lasting results.  Participants get their blood sugar levels tested at the start, half way through and at the end of the course.  These measures show that the course is working and participants are preventing Diabetes.

Commenting on the introduction of apps, Rachel Gaskell, Health and Wellbeing Coach at Jon Scott, Health & Wellbeing Manager, Reed Momenta, adds to this: “The programme achieves results. Participants change their behaviours and across Lancashire lose on average 3.1kg, and in West Lancashire this figure is 5.4kg.  Adding ORCHA to the programme further empowers and informs participants, providing practical support and engaging personalised information. This helps to make changes stick and become part of everyday routine.”

Reed Momenta, said: “Participants who use apps as part of the course seem to understand and engage with the subject better. They also have a clearer picture of how they are performing against any goal.  For example, when we discuss the importance of keeping a food diary, those with the Calorie Counter app by Fat Secret, not only had amazing insight at their fingertips, but regularly monitored and adjusted their nutrition habits.”

Mike Maguire, Chief Officer of West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group, continued “To tackle the escalation in Diabetes, people need to introduce lifestyle changes that are achievable and sustainable.  Adding ORCHA to the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme helps us to better deliver this. By including engaging tools, that people can access when they need them, we’ve increased the programme’s ability to deliver long term behaviour change that will ultimately save lives.”

Diabetes rates in West Lancashire – 7%

https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/lancashire-insight/health-and-care/long-term-conditions/Diabetes/

The national average is 6.6 per cent.

Read more at: http://www.westlancashireccg.nhs.uk/new-Diabetes-programme-launches-in-west-lancashire-52781/

Read about the author, Andy Jeans (Head of Implementations), on LinkedIn