Diabetes Management App Development

The modern lifestyle has changed significantly from what it was, for example, a century ago. Chronic diseases, including diabetes, are becoming more and more common, and many people have to get used to living with them.

The IDF Diabetes Atlas found that 537 million adults worldwide currently have diabetes of one type or another. Unfortunately, this number will grow to 643 million already in 2030. Further forecasts are likewise disappointing, and the disease will spread among even more people. Namely, it will affect 783 million individuals by 2045.

Although diabetes is incurable, modern medicine offers numerous medications and means to control this disease. Blood glucose trackers or diabetes self-management apps are notably helpful.

According to one study, diabetes monitoring apps positively impact patients and are used by more than 52% of people with type 1 diabetes and more than 33% of people with type 2. This software helps them to control some aspects of their life like nutrition, physical activity, blood sugar level, and more.

As you can see, diabetes tracker app development is critically important due to the rapid spread of this condition. Softermii will help you understand this in more detail by providing a guide for creating such software.

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Our company has profound experience in the healthcare niche, particularly in creating diabetes tracker apps like My Health Explained. Thus, we can share valuable insights, necessary features, tech stack, and other significant details on diabetes app development.

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Development Differences Depending on the Diabetes App Type

It is worth starting with the fact that diabetes has different types, each of which has specific symptoms. That’s why treatment approaches may differ.

We can apply the same logic to the diabetes control apps. Following the disease type and patient’s goal with your software, the main application types can be as follows:

Logbook Apps

It’s an app for diabetes management that helps record and study the results of blood tests and other health data. Such software typically allows patients to manually enter the necessary information, attach the medical examination results, and view all this data in convenient tables or graphs.

More advanced logbook apps allow patients to record data from medical devices (e.g., glucometers) and share this information with doctors directly through the app.

Nutrition Apps

For a person living with diabetes, it is critical to follow a strict diet. Therefore, diabetes food tracker apps will be handy in controlling glucose levels.

This software can include food monitoring features, calculating the amount of glucose and carbohydrates consumed, adding records of A1C tests performed, and so on. Additionally, such apps may offer popular diet plans suitable for people with diabetes.

Exercise Apps

Persons with diabetes must also maintain fine physical shape to improve their overall well-being. It is especially relevant for people with the second type of this disease since excess weight is a major risk.

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Exercise apps typically include one or more workout programs or separate exercises and are compatible with fitness trackers. This software also motivates users to engage in physical activity through a system of rewards and notifications.

Insulin Calculator Apps

The insulin calculator can function in a more complex application or be the main feature of separate software. Such an app is especially relevant for people with the first type of diabetes because they need to make regular insulin injections. Insulin calculator apps must have a notification function so patients don’t miss scheduled injections.

Diabetes Guidebook Apps

It is another type of diabetes app designed, as a rule, for newly diagnosed patients. The primary purpose of this software is to be a comprehensive guide to this disease and its symptoms. Such apps can include sections on different topics where people can find relevant information on their condition.

Do Diabetes Management Apps Need to Follow Regulations?

Answering this section’s question right away: yes, developing diabetes tracker app, like any other healthcare software, requires compliance with regulatory requirements.

The regulations largely concern the privacy and security of patient data. Depending on the country or region, the requirements may change and are established by different authorities. Here are the main ones:

• HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) — the US.
• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) — the EU.
• DPA (Data Protection Act) — the UK.
• PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) — Canada.

Keep these regulations in mind before building diabetes management apps.

The Diabetes Self-Management App Algorithm

If you aim to make a diabetes self-management app, you should learn the algorithm of its operation. Look at the scheme and read the explanations below:

• The beginning of the patient’s interaction with your application is the signing of a consent form and a short survey about medical history, data about the user’s health, etc.
• Next, your app prompts the patient to identify the purpose of using your software or the problem it should help them solve.
• At this stage, your application conducts a more in-depth survey to help your software decide on the most relevant topics for the patient. Include questions about nutrition, medication, blood sugar monitoring, etc.
• Now, based on surveys, your app selects relevant topics and individual recommendations for the patient.
• When your user re-logs into the application, your diabetes management software automatically displays the achieved/unachieved goals.
• If the user has goals and tasks to attain in your application, your software offers them information and advice on relevant topics, such as nutrition, physical activity, etc.

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Core Features for a Diabetes Monitoring App

Now that you know how diabetes monitoring apps work, learn about the fundamental features of such software. Here are the most necessary of them:

The IDF Diabetes Atlas found that 537 million adults worldwide currently have diabetes of one type or another.

Glucose Level Monitoring

It’s a key feature of the diabetes app that studies blood glucose test results.

Patients can add examination results manually or automatically via a Bluetooth connection with a glucometer, leveraging one of the latest healthcare IT trends — the internet of medical things (IoMT).

In addition, it would be good to add the ability to view the results of analyzes in graphs and tables with filters.

Diet Planning

This feature will be handy as part of a strict diet that people with diabetes must follow. It should include meal planning, calorie tracking, and meal notifications.

Carbohydrates Calculator

It is a feature that will also help patients adjust their diets. It estimates the number of carbohydrates consumed.

Food Database

It’s another feature related to the patient’s diet. The database should include various food products with their nutritional attributes: the number of calories, sugar, carbohydrates, fats, etc.

Doctor Consultation and Appointment

Building diabetes management apps that can directly connect patients with doctors would be great. These can be online consultations through video communication, messenger functionality, and an integrated calendar for appointment scheduling.

Medication Search and Purchase

The search for medications, and the possibility of their instant purchase is a winning feature in your app for managing diabetes. Thanks to it, your users can fully control their condition within your application.

Physical Activity Management

Physical activity management can include many sub-features. For example, you can offer your users a selection of workouts, a schedule for their implementation, reminders about physical activity, and the ability to connect to fitness trackers.

Reminder System

The notification system can remind users about various activities. For example, it can be reminders about taking medicine and food or about the need to increase or decrease physical activity.

Reports

It is another feature that will help your users better manage their health. Reports can include goal achievement, detailed information on blood glucose levels, physical activity levels, and so on.

According to one study, diabetes monitoring apps positively impact patients and are used by more than 52% of people with type 1 diabetes and more than 33% of people with type 2.

Data Import and Export

Since diabetes apps primarily use patient data to offer recommendations and help manage the course of their disease, the data import and export feature will be useful. This way, users can add the results of medical examinations, etc., and forward this information to other devices or people (e.g., their doctors).

Reminder System Configuration

A reminder system is critical to diabetes management. It’s because the patient’s condition largely depends on the timely insulin and food intake. Regular physical activity also affects their well-being.

So, if you want to make a diabetes self-management app of the utmost convenience and usefulness for patients, think about setting up a comprehensive reminder system.

This system should include a timer to calculate accurate time intervals for blood sugar tests, insulin injections, etc. You also need to add separate items for activities your patient needs to track: eating, taking a test, and so on.

What’s the main idea? The timer starts counting down when the user has marked an activity completed, such as an insulin injection. When it’s time to repeat this action, the app should notify the patient until they repeat this manipulation.

Tech Stack for a Diabetes Management App

Let’s figure out which technologies to use to build a diabetes management app. We’ve gathered a list of the most common ones for iOS and Android development.

• iOS: Swift, Objective-C
• Android: Kotlin, Java
• Backend: NestJS, Node.js, AWS
• Database: MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL
• UI/UX: UIKit and SwiftUI for iOS, Android UI for Android
• Video and audio calls: VidRTC

What Else to Consider When Developing a Diabetes Tracker App

Apps in the healthcare niche require specific attention in terms of design and development teams. Here are some tips to help you create a diabetes management app of top-notch quality.

Diabetes App Design Tips

You should put your user first in the diabetes app design process.

After researching your audience, you will most likely notice that they are people from different backgrounds and age groups. That is why you should focus on the accessibility and simplicity of your application.

Another thing that needs careful attention is the notification system in your application. Push notifications are not only one of the best healthcare app marketing strategies, but they are also critical for the well-being of your users. In the case of diabetes apps, a missed alert could mean a missed insulin injection or meal, so choose the design techniques that make reminders visible to users.

You should also keep the app design consistent to avoid confusing your users. Only the application with a meaningful look throughout all its sections will appeal to your audience and benefit them.

Dev Team Considerations

You also require a competent dev team to make a diabetes control app.

To find the right specialists, you must first clearly define your application requirements. Then, based on your needs, you can locate particular experts. Typically, your team will consist of:

• iOS or Android developer
• Backend developer
• UX/UI designer
• QA specialist
• Project manager

How to understand that your employees have enough qualifications? View their portfolio, read their testimonials, and find out if they have experience in the healthcare field. After that, interview the most suitable candidates and start cooperation based on the outcomes.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Diabetes Tracker App?

You should consider many factors to build your own diabetes tracker app. Some aspects that affect the cost include the number of features of the app and its design, third-party integrations, the chosen tech stack, and dev team rates.

We’ve prepared a step-by-step cost and time breakdown and a table with the approximate development price:

Discovery & Research stage

Time: 280 hours

Cost: $11 200

If you’re wondering how to develop a diabetes management app, this should be your very first step. Our business analysts conduct market research, analyze customer expectations, and assess industry trends in the first phase. All this information serves as a basis for project budget calculation.

It’s also the time when our design team creates a prototype and a concept. When creating the platform’s UI and UX prototypes, our team assesses to what extent the technology stack, functions, and overall aesthetics meet the client's expectations.

Development stage

Time: 640 hours

Cost: $25 600

Our experts create an early version of the entire product based on the selected technology stack.

Testing and launching

Time: 240 hours

Cost: $9 600

The testing and launching stage is crucial when you decide to build a diabetes management app. It is essential to collect user feedback about the product to improve the application's functionality, make it more user-friendly, and exclude bugs.

After all testing and bugs are fixed, your diabetes management solution is ready to go. Remember that any service needs support even after release to compete on the market successfully.

Writing technical documentation

Time: 40 hours

Cost: $1 600

It is the last step of diabetes management software development. It includes creating all the documentation for the application, particularly the product manual.

Let's summarize all of these in the table below:

	Development Stages	Hours	$
1	Discovery & Research	280 hours	$11 200
2	Development	640 hours	$25 600
3	Testing	240 hours	$9 600
4	Creating technical documentation	40 hours	$1 600
Total		1 200 hours (5 month)	$48 800

These are only approximate calculations, yet, the app’s costs may vary depending on your requirements. Note that outsourcing your software development can reduce your expenses. If you plan to create a diabetes management app and want to get a cost estimate, contact our team and share your project vision.

How Softermii Can Help

Softermii specializes in healthcare software development. We create mHealth applications, telemedicine solutions, hospital management software, and more.

Our team, in particular, was involved in the diabetes tracker app development. Our fruitful work resulted in a successful My Health Explained project. Let’s talk about it in more detail.

My Health Explained is a comprehensive app that provides patients with personalized diabetes programs. It’s powered by the knowledge of leading diabetes specialists, psychologists, and dietitians.

Challenges we encountered:

• Creating a system for selecting personalized diabetes treatment programs
• Making a diabetes treatment app accessible to every user

Our solutions:

• Introducing onboarding and survey processes to select the right diabetes program
• Delivering custom notifications
• Developing a smooth user flow and consistent UI

As a result, we managed to create an app used by over 11,000 people. In addition, these people left positive feedback and noted the relevance of the programs selected for them.

Final Thoughts

Chronic diseases affect an increasing number of individuals each year. Nevertheless, the good news is that medicine doesn’t stand still and rolls out solutions that significantly make people’s lives easier.

One such solution is diabetes management apps. Such software helps people with diabetes effectively control their condition by regularly tracking their injection schedule, eating habits, and physical activity.

If you want to develop a diabetes management app, Softermii can help. We’ve mentioned the importance of choosing a qualified team before, and we want to say we have the one for you. With our expertise in diabetes app development, we’ll offer you the best diabetes tracking software following all your requirements. So don’t hesitate and contact us.

Although diabetes is incurable, blood glucose trackers, modern medicine and diabetes self-management apps are notably helpful.