Dexcom RCT suggests CGM benefits for broad diabetes population

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Good morning health tech readers!

After a thorough review, STAT’s style master Sarah Mupo has decried that we will continue to write “health care” as two words. The Associated Press recently changed its widely followed style to make it a single word.  Read her explanation here .

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Oura, Whoop push connections to doctors

My biometrics might as well have been screaming into the void. I wore three wearable health devices to my annual wellness visit last week. The only one that was even discussed was the over-the-counter glucose monitor. And only as a curiosity: Oh really you’re wearing one right now? The doctor asked with interest. Yep, I said. I’m testing it out for work.

The experience was reverberating in my head as I wrote a new story on Whoop and Oura building access to virtual care providers directly into their apps. The development is in some ways an answer to persistent questions raised by consumer devices that people use in hopes of living healthier. What good is this data anyway? And what exactly are people supposed to do when their smartwatch or ring sounds an alarm?

In my story I report on the potential of the integrations to streamline care for conditions like high blood pressure and sleep apnea that are increasingly detected by wearables, as well as the challenge of extracting clinical value from measures doctors usually don’t use like heart rate variability.

Read more here

Apple launches perimenopause, child safety features

During Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, one health announcement came fast — the other was belabored at length.

First, Apple breezed through a new feature in the cycle tracking app that warns users of patterns that might be suggestive perimenopause or an underlying health condition. A mockup of the feature instructs users to talk to their doctor within the next year. It also includes educational material for tracking related symptoms.

Apple then spent 10 full minutes on a series of features aimed at helping parents control what and how much content kids consume on Apple devices and who they talk to. Notably, the segment was introduced by Apple VP of Health Sumbul Desai, who framed the features as rooted in science: “We believe in shaping Apple’s child safety features based on expert health research. The best available research from clinical and child development experts, as well as online safety experts, emphasizes the importance of balancing learning, creativity, and connection with establishing boundaries around technology use. This is critical in protecting adequate time for in-person social interaction, academics, physical activity, and sleep, all of which are essential for healthy child development. The research also shows that kids under 18 using personal devices benefit from age-based protections guided by adult supervision, and for those under the age of 13, access to personal devices should be limited and expanded when a child is ready.

I think there are four pieces of context that help explain Apple spending so much time on this.

It’s good for sales if parents feel like giving their kids phones and tablets won’t turn them into screen time goblins.

Tech companies in general are on defense after Meta and Google were found liable for the anxiety of a woman who alleged the companies’ products were designed to be addictive.

Both lawmakers and the federal government are putting pressure on tech companies. Lawmakers in states have considered or passed laws to limit screen use in schools. And legislation before Congress, like the Kids Off Social Media Act would put restrictions on platforms and schools. The Surgeon General’s office recently  issued a report warning about the dangers of screen time for kids. A bipartisan bill introduced last month would instruct the Surgeon General to develop specific screen time recommendations for kids.

The child safety update came just before Apple announced a rebooted AI effort including LLM-powered features across its apps and devices. AI chatbot developers have been sued many times over allegedly contributing to suicides and other harmful effects on people, and there are widespread safety concerns about the technology.

Dexcom’s G7 continuous glucose monitor helped people with type 2 diabetes who are not on insulin improve their blood sugar control according to new data released by the company at the American Diabetes Association scientific sessions. The anticipated data was released as the company awaits a decision from Medicare on coverage for type 2 non-insulin users. Dexcom recently said it expects a decision by the end of the year.

According to the data in a press release , people who used a G7 for 26 weeks saw a .9% decrease in HbA1c compared to a control group th…