It’s sometimes easy to get sucked into the fast-paced world of diabetes tech. The team at Connected in Motion took a step back to realize that despite recent advancements in the world of Continuous Glucose Monitoring, closed-loop pumping, and DIY diabetes, the large majority of the Type 1 diabetes community in Canada still relies on blood glucose monitoring as a staple to their diabetes management.
We recently connected with our partners at OneTouch® brand to find out what is new and exciting in the world of BG management. We worked with them to send their newest meter, the OneTouch Verio Reflect™ Meter and to hook them up with the Bluetooth enabled app, the OneTouch Reveal® app, to find out more about how it works in the real world, favourite features, and community recommendations for the future.
Didn’t get the chance to be part of the review team but want to give the OneTouch Verio Reflect™ Meter a try? For our friends in ??, you can request the Meter from the team at OneTouch® to give it a try yourself: https://www.onetouch.ca/offers
Disclaimer: Please check out CIM’s Partners Page to learn more about the companies we work with. None of the individuals who volunteered to review of the meter or app were paid for their feedback, however, these users received a free OneTouch Verio Reflect™ meter and a box of free test strips to trial. As well, it is important to recognize that CIM may be biased based on the fact that some companies highlighted below support CIM in different ways. We still thought this info was important for you to know about. (Always read and follow the label and note that treatment decisions should be based on the numeric result and healthcare professional’s recommendation.)
Introducing the OneTouch Verio Reflect™ Meter
The new OneTouch Verio Reflect™ meter is the only meter that provides on-screen Blood Sugar Mentor™ messages. If you’d like to learn more about the meter, visit the OneTouch Canada Website. Below are a few of its key highlights:
- Feature: Guidance (Blood Sugar Mentor™ Tips) – This feature appears when your results are consistently in range or are currently trending low or high. OneTouch® has included this option to remind you if you might need juice when you’re low or gives you a shoutout if you’re rocking your BGs for the day.
- Feature: Insight (Pattern Recognition) – These messages appear when the meter identifies a pattern of glucose results that fall outside the high and low range limits you set in the meter. An example: “High in the last 5 days at this time. Has anything changed?”. For those who aren’t keen to download their BG data and analyze trends, this is an awesome option which can help keep you on track. BG trends are analyzed over your last 5 days.
- Feature: Encouragement (Rewards) – An example of the gamification of diabetes, the meter offers awards when certain criteria are met, such as meeting the Daily Test Goal or tagging results. These can help you with those tasks that you know you should be doing, but struggle to prioritize, like checking your BGs a certain number of times a day.
- Feature: ColourSure® Dynamic Range Indicator – This feature alerts patients when they are near hyper or hypoglycemic levels. You can set your own high/low range. Coloursure® technology will help you see when your BG is near high or low by highlighting your result in blue, green or red, depending on where your BG falls in your personally-defined range.
- Feature: OneTouch Reveal® app pairing – The app allows you to see your BG readings on your phone and tag them with information to help you better understand patterns. You can use the app to set reminders to check your BG and to take insulin and can share reports with your healthcare providers.
HELPFUL TIP: Be sure to set up your own pre- and post-meal BG goals. These goals are pre-set in the meter 4.0 mmol/L and 7.0 mmol/L (before-meal targets) and 5.0 mmol/L and 10.0 mmol/L (after-meal targets.) If these aren’t right for you, you’ll start getting prompts, encouragement, and pattern recognition that might not match up with your own expectations. Note: The maximum high is 16.7 mmol/L, with 3.3 mmol/L hard-set at the low end.
HELPFUL TIP: Also be sure to set your own goals around the number of times a day you want to be checking your BG. The meter is factory-set at 4 BGs a day, but if that number is unrealistic for you, be sure to change it. The number you use becomes part of the meter’s reward system!
HELPFUL TIP: The OneTouch Reveal® app will ask you to log in every time you sync the app; however, there’s a switch that allows the user to remain signed-in if you’d prefer. If not activated, user will need to sign in each time. This can be done by entering password or using Touch/Face ID or Fingerprint if available.
Overview
Now, on to the good stuff: Real people with Type 1 diabetes using the meter and app. CIM reached out to the Beta Tester Team (if you don’t know about it, consider joining!) to find out if there were any folks out there who would be up for trying out the meter and providing us feedback before it hit shelves. Specifically, we were looking for people who had never or only rarely used Continuous Glucose Monitoring or Flash technology. We had meters and strips shipped out to these folks, they tried them for a week, rated each of the features of the meter and answered a few questions for us. We’ve compiled what they’ve had to say below.
Scroll down to meet the review team!
TOP FEATURES OF THE METER & APP
According to survey data, the top features of the OneTouch Verio Reflect meter were:
- Ease of Use
Eight of our 10 Beta Testers ranked the ease of use of the meter as their favourite feature. We received mixed reviews about the carrying case – Some LOVED the ‘holster’ that held the meter, lancing device, and strips. Others found it a bit difficult to handle. - Simple Set-Up
Seven out of 10 Beta Testers appreciated that the meter was easy to set up, with prompts that walked them through setting their personal BG target goals. Others, however, had difficulty with adjusting their BG ranges (with two admitting that technology was not often on their side!) which led to some frustrations when it came to pattern recognition and feedback. - Insights (Pattern Messages)
When it came to Blood Sugar Mentor™ Messages, the pattern recognition was the piece that most Beta Testers found useful. We dug a little deeper and asked if anyone’s BG management changed as a result of this feature: Anne told us: “[I learned that] my basal rates needed changing. I was able to adjust them, and am much better now.” We also heard from Nick: “My testing times are wildly irregular. Pattern management helped to show me the times that I’m higher than I should be, and helped make a few changes to get my BG controls in check.”
- Digital Logbook (App)
We also asked our Beta Testers about use of the OneTouch Reveal® app. Nine out of 10 of the reviewers downloaded and put the app to use. The top rated feature was the Digital Logbook. The logbook allows you to see your BGs organized by time and displayed in day, week or month view. The app also allows you to forward your BG trends to your diabetes clinic, straight from the app.
An example of the High Pattern one of the insights available on the OneTouch Verio Reflect™ meter and app*.
*Research2Guidance Diabetes App Market Data Q1, 2019.
Quotes:
“[The OneTouch Verio Reflect Meter] is a neat new meter that pairs with your phone. Its features are incomparable to any meter available on the market right now.”
“[By using this meter, I learned that] my testing times are wildly irregular. Pattern management helped to show me the times that I’m higher than I should be, and helped make a few changes to get my BG controls in check.”
“[I learned] that my basal rates needed changing. I was able to adjust them, and am much better now.”
WORTH NOTING: The meter comes with the new OneTouch Delica Plus lancing device, which several users mentioned loving. If you’ve used the Delica before, you’ll get an improved version of the original model.
Deep, 30, Vancouver
T1D for 17 years
Deep is a Nurse who loves being outdoors. She doesn’t let diabetes stop her from doing what she loves to do!
Sydney, 24, Toronto
T1D for 3 years
Sydney is a full time student at UofT. She is currently learning how to box and attending her first CIM program this summer!
Heather, 35, Ottawa
T1D for 35 years
Heather’s mom also has Type 1 diabetes. In fact, she shared her very first meter with her mom when she was first diagnosed! Heather plays ultimate frisbee and loves backpacking, swimming, and snorkeling (most recently in the Andaman Sea!)
Brooke, 27, Ottawa
T1D for 14 years
Brook is an RN, working on a busy surgical unit in a hospital in Ottawa. She loves staying active and being outside.
Anne, 45, Halifax
T1D for 30 years
Anne describes herself as a mediocre kayaker who loves singing in the car and strongly disliked vacuuming.
Kristen, 44, North Vancouver
T1D for 25 years
Kristen loves staying active and has 3 kids. Not only is Kristen living with T1D, but also several other autoimmune diseases as well.
Nick, 37, Belleville
T1D for 19 years
Nick is a lover of dad-jokes. He’s an entrepreneur, adventure-seeker, and member of the 2017 CIM Adventure Team. Nick is reviewing the meter with a perspective gained from DIY Looping.
Danielle, 26, St Catharines
T1D for 2 years
Danielle lives in the Niagara reason and has a partner who also has T1D!
Paul, 35, Niagara Falls
T1D for 19 years
Paul is a member of the 2018 CIM Adventure Team. He is starting his MBA in January. Paul currently wears the 670g Medtronic Pump and is reviewing this meter with those perspectives in mind.
Imran, 33, Toronto
T1D for 21 years
Imran once owned a car that had previously been owned by 2 other Type 1s.
