Patients who use smartphone apps to manage their diabetes could face serious health problems if they miss notifications needed to control their blood sugar, U.S. health officials warned.
The agency's warning applies to a growing field of wearable devices that track patients’ sugar levels or automatically deliver insulin, the hormone that helps manage glucose in the blood and break it down into energy.
Since the introduction of iPhone and Android devices, thousands of apps have launched claiming to help users manage their health, from calorie counters to mental health apps.
“Even if configured correctly, certain hardware or software changes can interrupt the expected operation of these critical devices, which can lead to patient harm if undetected,” said Courtney Lias, a division director in the FDA's device center, in a release.
The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday it has received multiple reports of users missing or not hearing important medical alerts from their phones, leading to cases of dangerously low blood sugar and even death.
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