About a year ago, Biff were approached to produce two apps by The College of Podiatry to help inform and educate on the importance of Diabetic Foot Screening. Recognised by Diabetes UK, BAPO, FDUK and driven by a desire to ensure people have their feet regularly screened, the apps provide two core functions for the care and concerns of both people with Diabetes and the Healthcare professionals that treat them. On World Diabetes Day, 14th November, the apps were launched.

Some of the numbers relating to diabetes are staggering. Over 700 people discover they have diabetes every single day, and roughly 10% of the whole NHS budget is spent on diabetes every year. The sad thing is that the signs of diabetic foot problems developing can be slow and barely noticeable, yet also complications can often be preventable if caught early enough, which is why screening regularly can help ensure you are keeping the risk of issues that arise from diabetes to a low.

The first app, for people with diabetes, provides a calendar entry to ensure appointments are kept and goes on to provide advice on how to look after the feet, the effects of diabetes, and what controls can be taken to lower your risk and care for yourself. Your GP or podiatrist would have advised the risk you have of foot problems caused by diabetes, but it is always advisable to have the screening a minimum once a year. The simple nature of the User Interface (UI) ensures the user is led seamlessly through the process of entering their appointment dates, contact details for the GP clinic and Podiatry department, and any further advice, holding everything together in one place for ease of accessibility.

The section on patient advice is where the app really comes into its own. The menu is clear and concise, offering detailed information about the best ways to take care of ones feet, the importance of the need to do so and, most importantly, when one should consider seeking further advice. The excellent diagrams, pictures and videos all help the patient with their understanding of care, and also what the podiatrist will do when they perform the foot screening. It is important to note that the details shown are related to the Risk level you have been advised by your GP. Please ensure you enter the correct risk level as low risk only includes the information relevant to a low risk person.

The second app is designed for the podiatrist / healthcare professional and is the true innovation of the thought process behind the apps. There are similar sections to the patient app on advice to give patients at their various stages of Low, Moderate or High risks of developing foot diabetes, however the app also provides so much more. The importance of diabetic foot screening and even a how-to are there to guide the healthcare professional, irrespective of how long it may have been since they last performed such a task, it guides them clearly through the process. The assessment form is integral to this performance. the prompt of each question not only makes it easy for the professional to complete the assessment with ease, but the app produces the results of the assessment, confirms the details to be provided to the person with diabetes, and instantly produces a file of the form that can be saved or sent directly to the relevant recipient to update the patient records, or downloaded to be added to the system at a later date.

Biff are really proud to have been involved in producing this app. We are keen to promote it on behalf of the College of Podiatry and want to increase it’s scope to all manner of users.