Review: DMP – The Diabetes App for iOS and Android

One of the newest apps in our diabetes toolkit is TDA – The Diabetes App for iOS, Android, and your web browser. This post is a diabetics review of the TDA App, or formally called the DMP or Diabetes Management App.

As Type-1 and Type-2 diabetics, one of the greatest tools we have to help manage our disease is the diabetic community. The hints, tips, and advice on how to better deal with our glucose control, eating and diet tips and recipes, and just overall mental support, from those that can directly relate in invaluable.

In this post, I will take a deep dive into the DMP – The Diabetes App from a diabetic’s perspective.  I hope this review of the new diabetes community app will be helpful to my fellow T1D and T2D diabetics.  However, before I get into my review, here is a quick overview of the DMP App available for iOS and Android. See the links at the end of this post to install the App.

What is the DMP – The Diabetes App?

The Diabetes App or DMP is a free app for iOS and Android devices that is dedicated to the diabetic community. On DMP, diabetics and their caregivers can connect with individuals from around the world to make new connections, get community support from people with the same type of diabetes (Type-1, Type-2, Gestational, etc.), who are the same age or have similar struggles. DMP also has a Find Professional area to connect diabetics with support from dedicated diabetes professionals from around the world.

What are the key features of the DMP App?

Like most blogs dealing with diabetes (this one included) and social media platforms like Facebook, DMP offers diabetics a convenient avenue from which to knowledge share and to educate themselves on diabetes, gain hints and tips on any variety of topics ranging from diabetic-friendly diets, advice, motivation, my favourite topic on our CGM or other diabetics technology (Hint: Want tips on how to keep your Libre or Dexcom CGM stuck to your arm?  Read more here), and much, much more. 

Where DMP takes knowledge sharing to an entirely new level is in providing a one-stop resource for diabetics integrated into a friendly app. The DMP App also has a website version. 

The great features are available through the DMP – The Diabetes App for iOS and Android include:

• Live Streams – At least twice a week DMP host live streams in their app or on the Instagram Channel.  Many of the sessions are hosted by health professionals including registered nurses, physicians, psychologists, diabetes educators, and passionate members of the diabetes community
• Online Chat Groups – Bulletin boards and chat groups have been the foundation of the internet since its inception.  DMP brings together diabetics and caregivers across a variety of diabetic topics.  Post a question, get a reply, or just some kudos to get you over that hump.
• Resources – Links to online resources, articles, and blog posts for diabetics. Some of the topics include the benefits of exercise, recipes, exercise videos, podcasts, and achieves of livestream events
• Professional Advice – The Find a Professional area is dedicated to connecting diabetics with trained professionals with expertise in diabetes management.
• Ask DMP – Directly message the DMP team with questions, concerns, feedback, or wishes that you have for the App and how it can better support the diabetes community.

A diabetics review of the DMP App for iOS and Android

As many of my readers know, I am active in several Facebook groups, diabetes forum topics and through my blog to help Type 2 diabetics like myself manage the disease, how to better work with our CGMs, and as an insulin-dependent T2, learn from the amazing Type 1 diabetic community with tips on how to train my 40-year old self how to manage life on bolus and basal insulin.  So where does DMP fit into my toolbox of diabetes resources?

Does DMP Simplify navigating the diabetes Support Community Forum

Facebook has 1.7 billion daily active users, and hundreds of groups on diabetes alone. As an example, my Type-1 diabetes support group has 43k members. Online communities / forums are a great resource that follows a question and answer model – ask a question on just about anything diabetes-related and a community member will likely be able to respond with a personal antidote or provide links to online resources. Sure, there are loads of similar resources on Facebook and other websites, but, like all things, not all groups are created equal.

The DMP App and website were designed to simplify the search for online diabetic resources and bring the same community, conversations, support, and userbase to a dedicated app for iOS and Android.  In my opinion, the DMP App has done just that with flying colours.

When I asked the DMP Team how they feel the Diabetes App improves the existing experience that is found in Facebook groups and similar online sources, they raised a few great points:

• Rules found in Facebook groups, which while useful in eliminating spam, can sometimes prevent conversations that provide helpful information.
• DMP does have basic community guidelines, the rules allow for the sharing of helpful information with a goal is to help people thrive. The DMP want to hear about someone’s diabetes podcast, blog that they started up, or a social media account dedicated to their journey. Oftentimes these are the links that get silenced in Facebook groups. 
• The idea of an all-in-one app, having an app-specific to those living with diabetes allows people to have a place where everybody on the app can relate to one another.
• It also allows people to foster friendships whereas Facebook group notifications can get lost in the clutter of other notifications from Facebook unrelated to diabetes.
• It’s a safe space that allows people to acknowledge their diabetes while having control over how they wish to engage whether that’s participating in community forums or simply utilizing our resources. It caters to a variety of needs.

From my experience, the DMP App has dedicated Community Groups / Forums for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics, open groups for all diabetics to get together, and more specific topics such as tips to help slow down (reverse) the progression of Type 2 diabetes or parents of Type-1 diabetics (under the mom’s section).  The screenshot shown above was a recent question I threw out to the community asking “what is the #1 tip you would give to someone that was recently diagnosed as a diabetic?”

As of January 2021, some of the DMP Community Groups included:

How is the DMP Community?

DMP has been available in the Google and iOS App stores since the Summer of 2020. In a few short months the DMP App has growth into a community of over 1,500 active users and close to 4,000 downloads.  Every day I logged into the app there are new and fresh faces in the community forums.  This early into an app’s history, it would not be fair to hold being “new” against them. 

That being said, the DMP – the Diabetes App team has done a fantastic job hosting a wide variety of Weekly Live streams dedicated to diabetes and diabetic friendly topics via the app and Instagram Live.

A great variety of weekly Live Streams Catered to Diabetics

My first experience with DMP Live Streams was a Live from the Kitchen session for making  Blueberry Lemon Scones hosted by Corey a Type 2 Diabetic and food blogger at @thistastegoodcorey (https://www.instagram.com/thistastesgoodcorey/) who’s tageline is “sharing my journey of recently being diagnosed with diabetes one meal at a time”. 

DMP typically holds two livestreams each week on a variety of topics. Prior to the livestream, users are sent push notifications to their App advertising the live event.  Most of the live events do take place within the DMP app with a few held on Instagram Live as well and usually around 30 minutes in length.

To raise awareness about these events, DMP promotes on their social media platforms prior to the event. In addition, users are also sent push notifications on the app when the event is about to start which will direct them to the Livestream page. 

The best feature about the livestreams is that they are recorded and made available for viewing at any time under the Livestream Archives allowing you rewatch or even more importantly, watch them at a time that is convenient for you.  After all, life is busy – convenience is the key, reinforcing the DMP idea of a one-stop-app for all your diabetes needs.  Kudos to DMP!

The livestream hosts are informative, dynamic, and the sessions are frequent. It will be great to see if the DMP can keep up this cadence of online hosts as the months and years go by.

Find Diabetic Professionals

One of the most unique features of the DMP – The Diabetes App is the Find a Professional section which is dedicated to connecting diabetics with trained professionals with expertise in diabetes management. To be clear, this area only provides you with an introduction, and the services provided by the professionals may be subject to fees for service. That being said, one of the biggest challenges we face as diabetics is finding advice beyond our family physician or endocrinologist.

The international list of professionals ranges from diabetes educators, health coaches, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, personal trainers, and more. Although the existing list of professionals is small at the time I wrote this post, it is a great start. I cant wait to see the list grow to include dietitians, naturopaths, and more.

Areas where the DMP – The Diabetes App can improve?

1. GROWTH IN THE COMMUNITY: The App is one of the newest support platforms on the internet for Diabetics.  Continued growth in active users and the community forums will be critical.  This is where you come into the picture, give DMP a try and let me know in the comments below what you think?  Links to install the App for iOS, Android are listed at the bottom of the post, or check out their website here.
2. ADDING SEARCH FUNCTION: Many of the sections of the app are chronological lists with the newest content on the top.  This works ok for a new app, but as the months and years go by and the amount of content increases exponentially, search functions, filters, and tagging content with keywords will be critical. 
   
   For example, what if I only want to find Livestreams on exercising or cooking?  That is a lot of scrolling to find the hidden gems
3. CONTINUE TO BE FREE: The app is advertised as a free resource for diabetics.  At this point, it literally is free.   The app is clean without any advertising pop-ups or subscription fees.  It will be interesting to see how the DMP Team maintains this model going forward.  Speaking to the DMP team about this very question, the team provided some encouraging news “Currently, DMP is self-funded. As we move forward, we look to generate revenue through the introduction of an e-commerce feature which will allow us to sell diabetes supplies via the app.”  So great news to the DMP Community that the app will continue to be offered for free.  Time will tell
4. MOMS, WHAT ABOUT DADS: Ok, this one is a bit of a comical pet-peeve, but as a single parent, I did get a bit offended by the Moms section and more so to the Moms of T1D Kids.
5. FIND A DIABETIC PROFESSIONAL: There is a great variety of resources here from life coaches, medical professionals, health coaches, pharmacists, and more. It would be great to know if the professional can support users from anywhere in the world, or limited to a specific country.

Expect a big update to the DMP App in early 2021!

With version 1 of the app released in mid-2021, there is some room for improvement with the app.  The DMP team has provided some hints for what to expect with version 2 of the app expected in late spring 2021. 

Here are some of the new features we can exepct:

• A new e-commerce feature will allow the users the buy diabetes supplies via the app.
• Integrating a snapshot calorie counter and diet/lifestyle tracker. Whereas there are plenty of tracker apps available for those living with diabetes, DMP’s goal is to eliminate having to use multiple apps to manage diabetes. By having everything in one place, all information can be tracked in one place and used to spot trends and adjust as needed. 

Where can you get the DMP App and access the DMP Web-site

Find the latest version of DMP App in the iOS App Store and Google Play:

In addition, for those who are not very familiar with using apps or want the convenience of a web view, DMP also has a desktop version:

The link for the desktop version of DMP is: https://dmp.disciplemedia.com/

People can use the same login and see the same content on both the app or the desktop version.