MON-144 Free Diabetes Mhealth Apps and a Patient Survey: Is Medication Adherence a Concern?

Background: Medication adherence is important in the management of diabetes. There are 325,000 mobile health apps with 3.7B downloads in 2017. Purpose: To assess free diabetes mobile apps for adherence metrics and questionnaire(QN) to assess patient adherence and interest in apps. Methods: Google Play Store ranked the top 10 diabetes apps (DA) based on downloads. QN were distributed via MD offices, public places and internet (FB, Craigslist, Reddit). QN: age, gender, education. Q1: Do you take your medicines? Q2: Have you ever forgotten to take your medicines? Q3: What lifestyle changes advised by your doctor would you adhere to? Q4: If you had a perfect reminder, it would be a) voice, b)text, c)your doctor’s staff, d)no reminder; Q5: When do you want to be reminded? a)1x/day, b)1x/wk, c)1x/mo, d)no reminder; Q6: Would you pay for app to remind you? Q7: Do you have diabetes; Q8: If yes, what type of diabetes? Q9: Do you have high blood pressure? Results: Top 10 DA had downloads of 1 x10(6) to 100K: 1)mySugr, 2)Onetouch Reveal, 3)OntrackDiabetes, 4)Diabetes Connect, 5)Health2Sync, 6)Diabetes, 7)Glucose Buddy, 8)Diabetes:M, 9)Blood Glucose Tracker, 10)OneDrop Diabetes Management. 5/10 apps had push notification for reminders. Only 1 app, Diabetes:M, fulfulled most of DSME criteria (cal/carbs; med log; HbA1c/FBS;Lipids; BP: Wt; Ht; BMI; Exercise; Goals, Psych). 1/10 apps had rewards for compliance, No apps discussed HIPAA/ privacy. Features: 9/10:weight; 8/10: HbA1c ; 1/10: lipid; 7/10: exercise; 6/10: diet mgmt; 9/10: BP; 8/10: med list. None of the apps had psych/depression. Survey respondents(R) =302: age range: 18-94 yrs, avg=40.5 yrs sd 19.2. Females=167:Males=133. Education: college/post coll: 240(79.5%); HS and less: 52 (17.2%). For n=302: Q1(adherence) yes (Y) 252(83.4%),No 13(4.3%), sometimes 37(12.2%); Q2 (non-adherence): Y 210(69.5%), No 92 (30.5%); Q3 (lifestyle changes): Weight 168 (55.6%), Exercise 237 (78.5%), Stress 152 (50.3%), Carb control 142 (47.0%), Won’t change 18 (5.6%); Q4 (reminder): Voice 50 (16.6%), Text 203 (67.2%), Doctor’s staff 61 (20.1%), No reminder 30 (9.9%); Q5 (frequency of reminder): qday 107 (35.4%), qwk 104 (34.4%), qmonth 50 (16.6%), none 39 (12.9%); Q6 (pay for app): Y 51 (16.9%), No 248 (82.1%); Q7 (DM): Y 32 (10.6%), No 262 (86.8%), not know if diabetic 8 (2.6%); Q8 (type of DM): type 1 =5(1.7%), Type 2=24(7.9%), gestational=2(1.0%), No diabetes 262 (86.8%), not know if they have diabetes 9 (3.0%); Q9(HTN): Y 66 (21.9%), No 224 (74.2%),not know 12 (4.0%). Conclusion: Half of the apps address adherence, majority do not give rewards, or have all of DSME criteria. Most of the respondents were college educated, nondiabetic, would not pay for an app, and had forgotten to take their medications in the past. As MDs, we need to work with our pts to find the best, free apps for their diabetes medication adherence and diabetes management.