Get diabetes under control with app support: DGIM awards “Una Health”.
27.04.2023 18:30
The smartphone app “Una Health” won the DiGA pitch battle organized by the German Society for Internal Medicine. V. (DGIM) held its annual conference for the second time. The Digital Health Application (DiGA) helps people with type 2 diabetes to recognize how their lifestyle directly affects their glucose levels and how they can positively influence them in the long term. This sustainable concept convinced the jury of the DiGA Pitch Battle, which took place on Saturday, April 22, 2023, as part of the 129th DGIM Congress in Wiesbaden.
Around 8.7 million people in Germany suffer from type 2 diabetes, and there are more than 500,000 new cases every year. An unbalanced diet, excess weight, too little exercise, smoking and stress have a negative impact on the disease. If an app provides direct feedback on lifestyle, users can immediately see how their behavior affects blood sugar.
The app visualizes the connection between food, behavior and sugar levels
The “Una Health” program is an algorithm that does exactly that: By coupling it with any glucose sensor, blood glucose measurement data is transferred directly to an app. At the same time, users enter every meal and activity. The app visualizes the connection between food, behavior and sugar levels. “Una Health GmbH has developed a program that, through direct reflection, has a lasting influence on patients’ lifestyles and motivates them to change their behavior,” explains Professor Dr. med. Martin Möckel, Chairman of the Digital Health Applications/AI in Guidelines working group of the DGIM, which announced the DiGA pitch battle. The app accompanies users individually, supports them with learning content, weekly tasks and continuous coaching via a chat. “Using the app also pays off for the treating person: a visit to the doctor can be made much more effective in this way and the therapy can be implemented more consistently,” says internist Möckel.
In a pilot study from 2022, Una Health GmbH was able to show that by using the program, the HbA1c value of the study participants fell by 1.1 percent after three months. Those affected also suffered from fewer blood sugar fluctuations, with glucose peaks falling by 50 percent. “90 percent of our users were consistently engaged in the program,” says Una Health managing director Pascal Grimm, another result of the study. 55 percent felt a significant increase in their energy level.
DiGA can expand patient care with an effective instrument in the future
After the premiere in 2022, five manufacturers of digital health applications once again competed against each other in the DGIM-DiGA pitch battle with short presentations of their products. “DiGA can expand patient care with an effective instrument in the future,” says DGIM expert Möckel. Currently, 45 DiGAs for internal diseases have provisional or permanent approval in the DiGA directory of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM). This means that statutory health insurance covers the costs of the apps. Una Health GmbH has also already applied for admission and is hoping for approval soon.