With Diabetes fast being crowned as the “killer disease” due to its wide prevalence and nature- there is a dire need to keep the patients aware of the impending dangers they face and they can be easily averted. From the technological front- medical apps such as On Track serve the purpose right. One of the high rated medical apps of recent times, On Track, is a widely popular app that helps diabetics track various essential parameters and maintain a record of them.
Features:
- At the outset- the app gives an overview of the various parameters that the user would like to track and monitor.
- The various parameters supported are Glucose/Food/Exercise/Medication/Weight/BP/Pulse/HbA1C/Body Fat
Tools:
- The tools used in helping the patients maintain a track of their diabetes are listed below:
- Add
- Edit
- Reports
- Graphs
- Tools
- Settings
Add:
Aids in taking note of values and requisite details for the desired parameter by inputting details like date, time, reminder, etc.
Edit:
The values inputted through the Add format are edited here for record purpose.
Reports:
The Reports sub section in this app is a very useful tool that has got various subsets like Logbook, Glucose average statistics, etc. Each one of the features is explained below:
Logbook: This tool helps maintain a log of entries for a defined time period for parameters where input values have been fed in through Add/Edit feature.
Glucose average statistics: This tool gives the average glucose statistics for over a period of time such as today/last week/ last month/ last 3 months. Estimated HvA1C % values are also generated.
Glucose by category: Defines and generates the report of average glucose scores for each category that the used has fed in data. Eg. Breakfast/Lunch, before breakfast, etc.
Food by category: Defines and generates the report of average carbohydrates intake for each category that the used has fed in data.
Medication by subtype: Defines and generates the report of the average amount of medication taken based on the user’s input.
Graphs:
The Graphs sub section in this app is a picturesque version of the reports generated with customised charts, graphs, colours, etc- aids in easy understanding for the patient. The following graphs are provided:
- BP Graph
- Glucose
- Glucose daily average
- Glucose by Time of Day
- HbA1C by Time
- Exercise
- Medications
- Carbs Daily Total
- Pulse By Time
- Weight By Time
The Graphs are plotted for each category/parameter taken over a period of time. For instance, the graph for glucose range is in a pie chart showing various categories of glucose scores such as very low/low/normal/high, etc.
Tools:
The Tools sub section helps in customising /manipulating our data. The back-up serves a very good purpose for creating a saved copy on your SD card in .xml format and also lets the user e-mail the data saved for future use. The restore version is used when the data stored in SD card is to be mapped onto the app- hence over riding the database values. Also, the values stored older than a particular custom data can be purged/deleted.
From the Makers:
“The philosophy of OnTrack is to provide enough capabilities to meet the needs of diabetics while not affecting the simplicity of the software by adding too many features. The core of OnTrack is enabling the user to record various entries”
- GExperts Inc
PADHAM’s Verdict:
A very user-friendly app for diabetics that can be customised greatly to one’s needs. The amount of tracking and monitoring that the patient or health care provider could do with this app has no bounds. These immense and extensive features indicate the amount of research that has gone into developing and marketing this app. At present- catering to the needs of only the Android user’s market- it could cover a wider range of patients and medical fraternity if built on the iOS platform as well.
Barring too many intricate details and convoluted categories/ sub-categories- this app gets PADHAM’s GO!
(This app was originally reviewed in the 2013 edition of PADHAM HEALTH NEWS newspaper. Check App for further revisions/updates.)