One step closer to an integrated diabetes management ecosystem - a guest post from Companion Medical

This week we updated our iOS app, Tidepool Mobile, with a new feature that allows us to upload insulin, carbohydrate, and workout data from Apple Health. When we first launched Tidepool Mobile, we started with your Dexcom CGM data, since Apple expanded the data that could be collected in Apple Health, we’ve been working hard to expand the potential of our mobile app. What does this mean for you? This means if you’ve been storing blood glucose data in Apple Health from some source that isn’t named Dexcom, you can now upload that data to Tidepool. That also means if you’ve been storing your insulin data in Apple Health from a platform like Companion Medical’s InPen, you can now upload that data to Tidepool as well.

We caught up with our friends at Companion Medical and asked CEO and President Sean Saint to share a little bit of information about InPen, and the new possibilities of integrated diabetes care and data interoperability.

Five years ago, Companion Medical identified a need. We recognized that as good as pumps are, they simply are not used by more than about 7% of people who use insulin. We needed to bring pump benefits to insulin pen users. So we designed an insulin pen that automatically sends your insulin doses to an app on your smartphone where we have insulin-on-board tracking and a dose calculator, just like a pump, to avoid stacking and provide more accurate dosing. We designed our pen to be as hassle-free as possible: no buttons, no recharging, no downloading, and no identifying prime doses—we do it all automatically. We call it InPen.

What we couldn’t foresee five years ago is what would be possible when we made insulin data from InPen automatically available to people with diabetes for the first time. Since we got started, Apple Health was launched and embraced by companies like Dexcom, providing a repository of blood glucose data with the ease of access smartphone users have come to expect. Last fall, Apple added the ability to track insulin delivery doses in Apple Health. With this new feature, Companion Medical has become the first company to push automated insulin data thanks to InPen.

But what does this mean for people with diabetes?

We know the Tidepool community is a big fan of the phrase “interoperability,” and that’s exactly what we’re able to accomplish now. Through Apple Health, we can bring in glucose information from any Apple Health-enabled glucose source and display it within the InPen App and in any of the reports we generate. The goal is to have true integrated diabetes data as a tool for your diabetes management, making dose calculations easier for people with diabetes and giving healthcare providers the data they need to make therapy adjustments with their patients. Truly, the days of phantom logbooks are in the past!

But it’s not just about your data that we are able to bring in to InPen...What about your data that originates from InPen?

If you choose to share your data with Apple Health—remember, it’s your data, so it’s your choice—now companies like OneDrop, and our friends at Tidepool can access that data. And this is where the excitement begins. Today, if you are a OneDrop user, you can get diabetes coaching for a monthly flat rate. When you interact with OneDrop coaches, they will have all of your glucose and insulin data right in front of them giving them a true picture of what you have been doing.

OneDrop users can receive fully informed coaching and OneDrop doesn’t have to do an extraordinary amount of work to make that data accessible. With OneDrop, integrated diabetes care can go beyond just seeing your data together, now that OneDrop coaches can be more fully included in your diabetes management. A new age of data-integrated diabetes care is truly upon us.

This notion of data integration gets even cooler with Tidepool.

Now that Tidepool is integrating Apple Health insulin and carb data into its system, all of your data that you’re sharing with Apple Health, including your InPen data, can be seen in Tidepool Web and Tidepool Mobile. We recognize not everyone will prefer to view their data using Insights by InPen and that’s okay. It’s your data. You should choose whatever platform works best for you. In addition to the blood glucose meter, CGM, and insulin pump data that Tidepool already supports, now they have added your insulin dosing data from your InPen. All of your data in one place? We think that’s amazing.

All of that information is at your fingertips, and you have the power to share it with us at Companion Medical, or donate it with Tidepool, or anything else you want to do. Our job is to deliver an incredible innovation and empower people with diabetes using insulin pens with their diabetes management. After that, it’s up to you to choose what’s next.

Companion Medical was founded with the belief that people’s lives are busy, and they don’t live for their diabetes, they live with their diabetes. We wanted to make every aspect of their care as easy as it can be. Now, we are excited to contribute to the integrated diabetes management ecosystem, engage a bright new future of diabetes technology, and further the ideals of data interoperability.

Dexcom, OneDrop, and Tidepool have all been instrumental in helping us realize this exciting future. As much of a burden as diabetes can be at times, the tools and technology being developed, for those of us fortunate enough to access these options, opens up a new frontier of diabetes therapy. We have tools today that we couldn’t even imagine a couple years ago. These tools are real, they are here. We have hybrid closed-loop systems, we have CGMs talking to your phone, and now we have automated integrated diabetes management for those of us who don’t want to use an insulin pump. With your data going in so many different directions, we can’t wait to see what advancements are around the corner!

Download the latest version of Tidepool Mobile from the App Store.

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Sean Saint is the President and CEO of Companion Medical