Principles of Interoperability of Diabetes Devices

Introduction: Better interoperability is essential to derive maximum benefit from connected wireless diabetes devices. The need for this feature of diabetes devices is supported by trends in designing better performance for three types of devices: nonmedical devices, medical devices, and diabetes devices.

Framework: First, interoperability is a standard attribute for the performance of nonmedical devices contained in smart systems that can sense and actuate. Second, interoperability is now mandated by the US Department of Health and Human Services as carried out by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information technology (ONC) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to improve the performance of all medical devices. Third, new guidance from the FDA and nongovernmental professional organizations are intended to promote interoperability because this feature will improve the performance of all diabetes devices.

Recommendations: Wireless devices perform best when they are interoperable, and this is particularly true for diabetes devices.