A new study by University of Manchester researchers has linked a digital platform helping people manage type 2 diabetes to better blood sugar control, improved health and potential long‑term NHS cost savings.
MyWay Diabetes, an NHS-supported online platform and app – which lets users view their diabetes health records, track results, and access simple education courses and advice – was rolled out across Greater Manchester during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
The analysis followed 507 users for up to two years and showed clinically significant reductions in blood sugar alongside lower systolic blood pressure and cholesterol levels, compared with more than 10,000 similar patients who did not use the platform.
The team also concluded that the digital approach was cost‑effective and may even reduce NHS spending over time.
Lead author Dr Rathi Ravindrarajah from the University of Manchester said: “Managing type 2 diabetes requires people to make complex day-to-day decisions about their health.
“Our findings suggest that accessible digital tools such as MyWay Diabetes can support people in improving important risk factors linked to long-term diabetes complications.
“MyWay Diabetes was even able to provide benefit to real-world population during a particularly challenging period for healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Luke Paterson lead health economist on the study while at The University of Manchester said: “Our analysis suggests digital diabetes self-management support can deliver health benefits at relatively low cost, and may even reduce long-term NHS spending.
“Even modest improvements in blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol across large populations can translate into meaningful reductions in future diabetes-related complications.”
Senior author Professor Martin Rutter from The University of Manchester said: “Digital self-management tools are likely to become increasingly important as health systems face growing pressures from long-term conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
“What is particularly encouraging is that we observed improvements not only in blood glucose control, but also in blood pressure and cholesterol – changes that, at a population level, could translate into reductions in diabetes-related complications.
“The findings also suggest that scalable digital approaches may provide good value for financially constrained healthcare systems.”
Unlike many digital interventions, MyWay Diabetes links directly to NHS primary care records, giving users access to personalised results and educational resources in one place.
The researchers emphasised that although the study was observational, the large real‑world dataset strengthens confidence in the results and highlights the need for further evaluation across more diverse UK populations.
The study, Clinical and cost‑effectiveness of the digital intervention, MyWay Diabetes, in people with type 2 diabetes living in Greater Manchester during the COVID‑19 pandemic, is published in the journal PLOS One https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0349232.
- The research was funded by Innovate UK, NHS England and the Greater Manchester Strategic Clinical Network.
