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Recently, I spoke to someone who may have accidentally taken a duplicate dose of insulin, resulting in a dangerously low blood sugar.

He knows that I am interested in assistive memory technology because I work with many patients with memory challenges. . So he asked if I could recommend a way to quickly record his insulin doses using his iPhone in order to prevent accidental overdosing.

I did some research on the many available apps for diabetes management. While I found many highly-rated apps, I tried to think of the simplest and easiest methods to use. I like the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) approach.

The videos below demonstrate 2 fast ways I found to easily record actions, events, and doses using Siri and your iPhone.

iPhone Note App:

Pro: All insulin doses are in one note titled “insulin.” This overview method makes it easier to view frequency, types, and trends of doses.
Con: This method requires more steps than using Siri and the Calendar app.
 
 
STEPS:
Open the Note app, then create a new page titled with the action / event you want to record and track.
Then follow these steps:
1, “Hey, Siri. Open note insulin.”
2. After the Note app page titled “insulin” displays,
touch the screen to position the cursor.
3. Launch Siri and dictate (for example): “August 31st, 1 pm. 10 units of humalog insulin.”
4. Close note.
 
Watch the video to see the iPhone Note App process in action:
 
— — —
 
iPhone Calendar App:
Pro: Quick, one-step process to record dose/ type of insulin (and other actions.)
Con: You must search the calendar for the records of type and dose of insulin. But you can search with Siri.
 
Recording step: “Hey, Siri. Create event 10 units of humalog insulin today at 1 pm.”
Searching step: “Hey, Siri. Search my calendar for humalog insulin.”
 
Watch the video to see the iPhone Calendar App process in action:
 
 
Note that both of these methods can be used to record any type of action or event, ​not just insulin doses.

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