Type 2 diabetes randomised controlled trial results

Healum partnered with Vernova Healthcare CIC to test the Healum care planning software and app across 15 GP practices in Eastern Cheshire. The study was funded by UKRI and designed to meet the NICE Evidence Standards Framework.

Healum is integrated with EMIS Web. In the trial, nurses and doctors set goals with each patient, tracked progress, shared resources and sent test results.

What we found

• HbA1c fell by an average of 7.4% over six months for people with a Healum plan, against a rise of 1.8% in the control group.
• 72.4% of people with a Healum plan reduced their HbA1c, against 41.5% in the control group.
• 52.7% reduced their BMI, against 42.9%.
• Self-rated health (EQ VAS) improved by 8.2%, against a fall of 2.8%.

“A key challenge in long-term condition management is to motivate and support patients to make healthy choices and understand how to best manage their diabetes in a way that means something to them.”

Dr Adrian Heald, Consultant Physician in Diabetes and Endocrinology and Chief Investigator

How people used the app

Patients didn’t just download the app. During the trial they logged 6,797 measurable healthy choices, completed 343 goals, made 2,430 health tracking entries and read more than 2,200 education resources.

Read the paper

Heald AH, Roberts S, Albeda Gimeno L, et al. A randomised control trial to explore the impact and efficacy of the Healum collaborative care planning software and app on condition management in the type 2 diabetes mellitus population in NHS primary care. Diabetes Therapy 2023;14:977–988. Read it in Diabetes Therapy.