Systematic Evaluation of Canadian Diabetes Smartphone Applications for People With Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational Diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: Our aims in this study were to: 1) review diabetes apps available in Canada using the Mobile App Rating Scale tool and generate usability scores for each, 2) characterize availability of features across all apps, 3) evaluate the clinical safety of bolus insulin calculators and 4) evaluate the quality of exportable blood glucose reports meant for use by health-care providers. METHODS: Two primary reviewers searched for, screened and evaluated diabetes apps from the Android Play Store and iOS App Store, resulting from the search terms "glucose" and "diabetes." RESULTS: Overall Mobile App Rating Scale quality rating score was 3.1 out of 5. The Functionality subsection scored the highest (3.9 out of 5) and Information scored the lowest (2.0 out of 5). The majority of apps have the ability to track carbohydrate intake (54 of 75, 72%), send reminders (46 of 75, 61%) and can generate blood glucose reports (53 of 75, 71%), but few have bolus insulin calculators (6 of 75, 9%) and remote diabetes support (10 of 75, 13%). CONCLUSION: Despite the widespread availability of many iOS and Android diabetes management apps, few are of high quality.