Abstract
Background and Aims Recent years have brought about a new form of “connected diabetes care,” defined as digital diabetes management systems based around (1) smartphone apps, (2) devices with built-in connectivity, and (3) remote human and automated coaching and support. Given their potential to help improve health outcomes, the rapid pace of innovation, and the dearth of information about them to guide patients, providers, and payers, we provide an update on the landscape of and trends in connected diabetes care offerings. Methods Prominent connected diabetes care providers that have published results are categorized and characterized. Similarities and differences are identified and the state of available evidence is evaluated. Results Connected diabetes care offerings were analyzed for items including: health conditions managed, care team composition, connected medical devices, and evidence. We expect these players will further expand offerings across chronic conditions, strive to integrate more deeply with the traditional healthcare system, deploy greater automation to promote scalability, and find clever ways to promote and support the use of continuous glucose monitoring in type 2 diabetes. Future evidence generation for this field should have more standardized methodology. Conclusions The field of connected diabetes care has tremendous potential to improve outcomes, but it is in its infancy in terms of awareness, uptake, and effectiveness. Further, questions regarding offerings’ abilities to support most people with diabetes sustainably remain. However, existing evidence is sufficient to support further exploration and refinement of the model as the next step in team-based diabetes care.