Glucose meters with built-in automated bolus calculator: gadget or real value for insulin-treated diabetic patients?

Self-monitoring of blood glucose is now widely recognized as efficacious to enhance and facilitate diabetes management. More than just a means of recording and storing data, some blood glucose meters (BGMs) are now designed with an embedded automated bolus calculator (ABC) with the goal to propose patients recommendations about insulin dosage. The growing literature in this field tends to claim that these new smart BGMs make patient's life easier and decision making safer. The main purpose of this review is to verify whether BGMs with a built-in ABC indeed improve the willingness and the ability of insulin-treated patients to make adequate therapeutic decisions and positively impact the metabolic control and the quality of life of ABC users. It appears that, as long as the education provided by caregivers remains a top priority, BGMs with a built-in ABC (more than just electronic gadgets) can be regarded as bringing real value to insulin-treated patients with diabetes.