are helpful. For example, the website DiabetesMine curates video patient reviews that explain how a particular app works andwhether the patient or caregiver finds it useful (http://bit.ly/1EtLCCR). “It’sagreat resourcethat isbeingmissed because it isnotcomingfromthemedicalestablishment,”Leesaid. “Patientsare thebest at finding tools thathelp themmanage their chronic disease.” Even if a physician and patient find a useful app, it isn’t necessarily clear how the app will work in the context of clinical care. “The challenge is integrating [mobile apps] into the medical delivery system,” said Lee. She explained that sharing app data via email may not be secure or compliant with patient privacy regulations, or apps may present data in formats that are difficult to upload into widely used medical electronic records. It has taken years and multiple iterations for Clough and her colleagues to develop systems that allowthepracticesusing the WellDoc Diabetes Manager app to easily integrate it into theirprescribingandclinical care workflows, Clough said. She acknowledged, however, that this is a challenge many tech-driven health solutions haven’t figured out how to solve for their own apps. While apps are not a panacea for all patients or providers, theymayhelpbetter engage some patients. Data collected by the BlueStarappduring theregional rollouthave shown that adults in the 60to 69-year-old agegroup,whooftenstrugglewithadherence and diabetes complications, are among the WellDocBlueStar app’smost prolific users. “Theyarekilling it,” shesaid, referring to their successful use of the app.
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Lawrence O. Gostin (2015) studied this question.