Diabetes Device Alerts May Be Missed Due to Smartphone Settings

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety communication regarding the potential for missed alerts with diabetes devices due to software or hardware changes.

According to the Agency, there have been reports of patients missing critical safety alerts from their diabetes-related devices (eg, continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, automated insulin dosing systems) due to incorrect smartphone device alert settings. 

Changes to the alert settings on a smartphone can occur when updates are done to the operating system (OS) that are not supported by the diabetes device or when new audio devices (eg, wireless headphones, Bluetooth speakers, car audio) are connected to the smartphone. Additionally, certain smartphone features such as battery saver, “focus mode” or “do not disturb” may change how alerts are delivered.

In order for these alerts to work properly, the settings within the mobile medical app connected to the diabetes device must be configured correctly with the settings within the smartphone itself. To mitigate this issue, the FDA is recommending that patients do the following:

• Follow the instructions provided by the diabetes device manufacturer for installing, setting up, or updating the mobile medical app.
• Prior to updating the smartphone’s OS, verify that the medical app is compatible with the new OS version; turn off automatic OS updates.
• Confirm alert settings following the OS update and when adding a new accessory to make sure alerts can be received and heard.
• Check smartphone alerts periodically (at least once a month) to make sure the settings are configured correctly. 
• Call the manufacturer’s technical support line for assistance if alerts are not being received as expected.

Health care providers are also urged to inform patients to periodically check their smartphone settings and to confirm that they are able to receive alerts from their diabetes devices following hardware or software updates.

Issues related to diabetes-related devices should be reported to the FDA’s MedWatch program.

This article originally appeared on MPR