DexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM) announces that the U.S. FDA has given clearance for its Dexcom Partner Web APIs.
Invited third-party developers can now integrate real-time CGM data into their digital health apps and devices.
The clearance expands connectivity and interoperability of the Dexcom CGM digital ecosystem.
Several diabetes and digital health companies have been invited to access the real-time APIs and are already in the testing and development phase, including Garmin and Teladoc Health’s Livongo for Diabetes, DexCom said.
If I understand this FDA ruling, it means that Dexcom will allow/enable real-time (up to the minute) access to the data stream that the Dexcom system yields. I know that DIY Loop developers had to configure a work-around to access glucose data from the present moment to three hours back.
I think this will increase the utility of the Dexcom data-stream and will allow even more people to access their personal glucose real-time data and use it to improve their health. While retrospective data can be helpful for tweaking an insulin regimen, it is the real-time data that is especially helpful. This is good news.
@CJ114 If this happens, I will be a happy camper. I desperately want Dexcom data to show on my Garmin Edge bike computer. I guess I won’t go back to the Fenix watch as I have gotten use to the Apple watch. It’s annoying that it must be charged daily. I’m not sure how I got the Apple watch to do it correctly. I have a digital display in the upper right corner When I lift my wrist it goes to Dexcom. The complication thing on a watch face is often blank unless I touch it.
I’m actually concerned about who this is giving access to.
They’re not talking about open-source access, that would enable easier access for apps like Xdrip, spike, etc… They’re talking about limited, licensed access by health portal apps, like those made by insurance companies. While insurance companies already demand a lot of personal info from physician records, at least the physicians act as a buffer. I really dislike the idea of insurance companies having direct access to my livestreamed biometrics.
But then again, I’m not using any of these health data syncing apps that currently exist. I don’t even share my FitBit data in apps that allow syncing. So maybe I’m in the minority here? I want my data in tools where it’s useful to me, but limited to anyone who has the power to use it against me.
The only thing I’m desperately hoping for in terms of Diabetes info sharing amongst apps, is that I wish my Xdrip could get insulin delivery info from Control-IQ. I know they are working on it and have already had some success, so hopefully soon.
I don’t feel like they want to use it against me, but I do agree that it should be on my terms. If I buy the device, let me use the data, don’t make me share it except as I choose.
I share with my endo as needed and we talk about it regularly. Why should my PBM or Dex be involved?
It certainly would be optimal if Dexcom real-time data would populate the InPen app (formerly, Companion Medical; now, owned by Medtronic). I wonder if that will happen given the fact that Medtronic has its own proprietary CGM (Guardian) which does provide real-time data.
Health tracking seems to be a trending area that Apple, Google and other mega-scale app makers are trying to pile into, so there’s probably a lot of commercial impetus behind this. But I do feel like there’s a difference between a full fledged REST API and these little widgets that piggyback on Dexcom Share, like Sugarmate, which I run on my laptop and my phone, and the Fitbit clockface I use. I find these widgets super-convenient, even if they always seem to be pushing to let them do more by having me enter mealtime carbs and whatnot. I don’t really need that stuff, just the ability to quickly view my number and trend, same as the native Share feature. I suppose nothing is secure these days, but I think the Share data is sequestered in a way that gives me control over it, even when I’m allowing 3rd-party apps to use that stream. I can see all my followers from within the Dexcom app and can easily cancel any with a screen tap.
