Diabetes app library to ensure quality support during lockdown

A leading health app accreditation body has created a library of diabetes applications to ensure people have access to quality digital support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA) has released a diabetes App Library.

The app ranked at number one is the Low Carb Program (LCP), a multi award-winning, evidence-based behaviour change platform for people with type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes and obesity. In response to coronavirus, the LCP developer Diabetes Digital Media (DDM) has created a library of classes, including exercise, yoga, meditation and fitness.

The Diabetes Forum is also listed. It is the leading diabetes online forum, where participants can find support, ask questions and share your experiences with people who range from diabetes experts to those who are newly diagnosed.

The website said: “Apps offer a practical tool that not only helps to keep pressure off Health and Care systems in a time of high demand, but also allows people to protect themselves and others from unnecessary risk.

“The market is, however, awash with apps, and with little direct regulation, app stores can’t confirm that an app is clinically assured or whether personal data will be stored safely. Of almost 6,000 apps found in app stores, we have found that 85% do not meet recognised compliance and quality thresholds.

“For that reason, The Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA) has created this health and care App Library so that everyone, including the most vulnerable in our communities, can access quality digital health during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will help individuals and those that care for and support them and the professionals looking after them to find the best apps to keep healthy and better manage health conditions whilst at home.”

Picture credit: Rob Hampson