Diabetes Management App Development: How to Build a Successful App

Digital technologies have revolutionized a lot of industries, healthcare definitely being one of them. Software solutions have proved their efficacy in improved treatments and thousands of lives saved. And while some solutions are still just being tested, others are already widely adopted and developers are working on modernizing and enhancing them. Diabetes control apps are part of the second group, familiar to both doctors and patients. Tech experts now aim to make these solutions more advanced and feature-rich. 

In this article, we’ll talk about the peculiarities of diabetes management app development and provide some practical recommendations to those who want to build a diabetes management app.

In 2023, the global digital diabetes management market is valued at around $18.9 billion. With a projected CAGR of over 13% from 2023 to 2028, the market is expected to reach $35.8 billion by the end of this period. 

When it comes to diabetes control apps, there are generally two types: those intended for professional use and those targeted at a wide audience. Though the majority are built for people living with diabetes, the role of professional apps shouldn’t be underestimated. They help medical staff optimize many processes, improve the quality of healthcare services, minimize the risk of human error, and increase the effectiveness of treatment and symptom mitigation.

Let’s have a look at the most common types of diabetes control apps.

• Logbook applications

These solutions help users record various health data, such as blood tests, and analyze them. As a rule, users need to add the required info manually and then are able to view their data in various formats, such as graphs and tables. Modern apps of this type can also receive data from IoT-powered medical devices automatically.

• Nutrition applications

It is very important for people with diabetes to monitor their food intake. That’s why there are a lot of apps that help them track their meals to control glucose levels. Such solutions typically calculate the amount of carbohydrates and glucose consumed, allow adding the results of A1C tests, and provide appropriate diet suggestions.

• Fitness applications

Physical activity for people living with diabetes is a must. Fitness apps with various workout programs, exercises, and online sessions can help users avoid excess weight and improve their well-being. Such apps can motivate people to move more by offering bonuses and rewards. These applications can be coupled with fitness trackers.

• Insulin calculators

Such apps can be offered as stand-alone solutions, as part of a bigger solution, or as a separate feature. These apps are created for people with diabetes type 1, who need to make insulin injections. Calculators not only help define the right dosage but also send notifications when the next injection is needed.

• Guidebooks

Diabetes apps of this type are mainly used by patients who have been recently diagnosed with this disease. They offer a comprehensive guide to the disease, its symptoms, and what is needed to combat its ill effects.

The functionality of your application should be chosen based on the tasks your software product will perform. But as a rule, such an app will have the following features:

• Glucose level monitoring. This feature is a must for any app that analyzes the results of blood glucose tests. You can let users add results manually or ensure automated data exchange with a glucometer.  It’s a good idea to enable data visualization and give users the possibility to view statistics in the form of graphs.
• Carbohydrate, sugar, and calorie calculator. Thanks to this feature, an app can calculate the amount of sugar and other carbohydrates, as well as calories consumed, based on users’ food intake. Often these applications are equipped with a rich food database and can indicate the nutritional content of many products.
• Diet planning. This feature allows people to access menu variants and recipes suitable for people with diabetes. Advanced apps can also adjust users’ menus based on the results of blood sugar monitoring.
• Consultations with doctors. You can make it possible for users to connect with doctors directly via an app. Communication can be organized in one of several available formats: online chats, video calls, or voice calls. If you believe that this functionality is not required in your case, you can allow users to make clinical appointments with your app.
• Notifications. A reminder system can send various types of notifications, for example, when a user needs to test their blood sugar or inject insulin. It can also remind a person of upcoming appointments with doctors or the need to increase their physical activity.
• Physical activity tracker. This functionality can help users understand whether their activity is adequate. You can also enrich your app with various sets of exercises and workouts that will help users keep fit.

Part of the planning, before you develop a diabetes management app, involves defining the most suitable tech stack. The chosen technologies and tools should help reduce the time and money required to build various app features. It’s better not to select uncommonly used technologies, as this will make it especially challenging to find developers who will be able to work with your solution. 

Below is a list of technologies often used to create apps of this type. But please bear in mind that the required tech stack in your case can differ from this list, as it needs to correspond to the desired functionality of your future solution.

• Mobile development: Kotlin (Android), Objective-C, Swift (iOS), Flutter, React Native (cross-platform development)
• Backend: Node.js, NestJS
• Frontend: Angular, Vue.js, React.js, JavaSript
• Database: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB
• Cloud platform: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud
• Video and audio calls: WebRTC, VidRTC

To plan the process of diabetes tracker app development, we recommend becoming thoroughly familiar with the following steps, which are necessary for any project.

1. Concept. Determine the tasks you want your future software product to solve. At this step, you need to clearly understand the issues users face on a regular basis and ways to address them. It’s recommended that you create user personas and describe their needs, interests, and preferences. You can also analyze existing apps to learn what unique features you can offer to end-users.
2. Requirements. Based on the information gathered at the first step, you will be able to prepare the requirements for your app. You will need to create a list of features your app will have and choose the tech stack. (As a rule, a development team that you work with will be able to help you with this task.)
3. UI/UX design. Your app should be not only visually attractive but also easy to use. Bear in mind that people of different ages and professions may be among the users of your diabetes control app. Keep interfaces simple while ensuring rich functionality of your product. And don’t forget that interfaces need to be compatible with screens of different types and sizes, including foldable displays on modern smartphones.
4. Development. This step includes a lot of coding work, as developers need to build in all the required features. Very often we recommend our clients start with developing an MVP. This will be the first version of your app, with a very limited set of features but developed enough to test the feasibility of launching a full-scale product.
5. Testing. We always allocate time for conducting a series of manual and automated tests that help us detect and fix all the bugs in a timely way. Regression testing is conducted after all changes are introduced, with the aim of checking that the app functions correctly.
6. Release. When the app is tested and you are satisfied with the results, you can introduce it to users. 
7. Post-launch maintenance. After the software product is launched, you need to monitor its performance so as to address potential vulnerabilities. It will also be necessary to analyze how users respond to the app, to regularly improve and update it in accordance with their feedback.

One of the most commonly used technologies in building solutions of this kind is the Internet of Things. IoT allows developers to connect into one network various items and devices that traditionally can’t interact with each other.

Thanks to IoT app development services, you can create a diabetes management app that will receive real-time data directly from medical devices, like glucometers. Through the app, the most relevant data can be made available immediately to patients and doctors.

IoT-based glucose monitoring systems can be used in in-hospital treatment as well as in remote monitoring. Mobile applications can not only accumulate accurate medical records and provide analytics and reports but also help users react in a timely way to any critical changes in vital parameters, such as blood sugar.

Such apps can also be connected to wearables, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches, which will help users monitor their physical activity. 

The cost of any software development project is influenced by various factors, including but not limited to:

• the scope of work;
• the complexity of your solution;
• the number of integrations;
• the chosen tech stack;
• the rates charged by the development team and its size.

When you choose a company that will help you with your project realization and share your requirements, the team will estimate the cost of development and provide you with precise figures. Based on these estimates, you will be able to plan your budget.

Before creating your own solution, it’s useful to have a look at similar products that are already available. You can view these examples as sources of ideas. But while considering existing products, consider ways to make your own solution stand out from the crowd. You can achieve this goal by including some unique tools or features.

• MySugr

It is a diabetes management app that has both free and premium versions for Android and iOS devices. The app was created by people with diabetes who deeply understand the needs of users with this disease. It helps to store all diabetes-related data gathered from connected devices in one place. Moreover, it also allows users to add data manually or integrate from other solutions. Users can link different devices like blood glucose meters to the app and share their data with doctors via the RocheDiabetes Care Platform. However, at the moment there is no option to exchange data via other healthcare management platforms.

• Bluestar Diabetes

This is an FDA-approved, free iOS and Android app that provides a wide range of advanced tools for people living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. It has features for blood sugar monitoring and provides personalized, AI-driven coaching, as well as ideas for recipes. It has a barcode scanner and can be synchronized with fitness trackers. As for existing limitations, the app is intended for people of 18+ only. To get access to the app’s functionality, a user needs to receive a code from an employer or healthcare provider.

• Fooducate

This is a nutrition-focused tracking app for Android and iOS devices. It helps users assess the quality of the food they choose. The application is enriched with a huge, scannable barcode database. This means that users can just scan a barcode and see the macronutrients they’ll consume in eating that food. The application can estimate the quality of your nutrition, assign grades, and provide explanations, food intake tips, and recommendations from experts. Though the app has a free version, diabetes-specific tips are available only to those users who have chosen a premium option.

• Glucose Buddy

This is a paid iOS and Android app that offers plans with various pricing. It provides rich functionality for monitoring blood glucose levels as well as carb, insulin, and medication intakes. It can also track users’ physical activity and sync data from the Apple Health app. The application can send push notifications to remind users of the necessity to measure blood sugar.

Our team has a proven track record in providing custom mobile app development services to the healthcare industry. Our portfolio includes a wide range of advanced software products for patients, doctors, and medical staff. 

For one of our clients, we successfully built a diabetes control app for Android devices. It’s a digital logbook for people with diabetes. The application allows people to keep all their health-related data in one place. It has convenient and user-friendly interfaces for making notes in food diaries, and adding medical records and results of laboratory tests. The app can send reminders and notifications, as well as make forecasts and prepare reports based on the added data.

The application can be connected to popular fitness trackers such as Apple Health and Google Fit, for reliable fitness data monitoring. The pro version of this solution has a Bolus Calculator, which helps users calculate the correct insulin dosage.

Technical progress has allowed development teams to make diabetes control apps more advanced and convenient to use. A key trend in this market is the adoption of IoT-based monitoring systems that help automate many processes.

If you also have plans for building a solution for people with diabetes, our team is ready to help you. With our expertise in healthcare app development, you can be sure to get a solution that will fully meet the needs and requirements of users. Want to learn more about our services? Just drop us a line!