PAIRING AND SYNCHRONIZING A MOBILE PHONE APPLICATION WITH A HANDHELD GLUCOSE METER

1 . A diabetes management system comprising:

a handheld medical device that includes:

a port configured to receive a test strip having a reaction site for receiving a sample of fluid from a patient;

a blood glucose (bG) meter, cooperatively operable with a test strip inserted in the port, configured to measure glucose in a sample of fluid residing in the test strip and associate identifying information with the glucose measurement;

a wireless transceiver cooperatively operable with the bG meter to communicate the glucose measurement and the identifying information via a wireless data link;

a user interface that selectively instructs the handheld medical device to initiate a pairing procedure in response to input received from a user and that displays a unique identifier associated with the handheld medical device; and

a first processor configured to:

determine, in response to the port receiving a test strip, whether an auto-send feature is enabled on the handheld medical device;

determine whether the handheld medical device is paired with a mobile computing device; and

selectively instruct the wireless transceiver to establish a wireless connection and communicate the glucose measurement and the identifying information in response to the determination of whether the auto-send feature is enabled and the determination of whether the handheld medical device is paired with a mobile computing device;

a mobile computing device comprising a second processor configured to execute a diabetes management application stored on an associated memory, the diabetes management application is configured to process a plurality of glucose measurements and identifying information associated with each of the plurality of glucose measurements and to display, on a user display of the mobile computing device, a message indicative of at least one glucose measurement.

2 . The diabetes management system of claim 1 wherein the diabetes management application is displays, on the user display of the mobile computing device, a list of proximally located wireless devices.

3 . The diabetes management system of claim 2 wherein the diabetes management application receives, via input from the user, the unique identifier.

4 . The diabetes management system of claim 2 wherein the diabetes management application pairs the mobile computing device to the handheld medical device in response to receiving the unique identifier.

5 . The diabetes management system of claim 4 wherein the diabetes management application enables the auto-send feature on the handheld medical device in response to the user selecting the auto-send feature on the mobile computing device.

6 . The diabetes management system of claim 5 wherein the diabetes management application stores the glucose measurement and identifying information on the associated memory within the mobile computing device.

7 . The diabetes management system of claim 1 wherein the first processor does not instruct the wireless transceiver to establish a wireless connection in response to the auto-send feature being disabled.

8 . The diabetes management system of claim 1 wherein the first processor determines whether the handheld medical device is paired with a mobile computing device in response to the auto-send feature being enabled.

9 . The diabetes management system of claim 1 wherein the first processor selectively instructs the wireless transceiver to establish a wireless connection with the mobile computing device and to communicate the glucose measurement and the identifying information in response to the auto-send feature being enabled and the handheld medical device being paired with a mobile computing device.

10 . The diabetes management system of claim 1 wherein the diabetes management application compares the at least one glucose measurement to a first glucose threshold.

11 . The diabetes management system of claim 10 wherein the diabetes management application displays, on the user display of the mobile computing device, a message indicating the at least one glucose measurement is high in response to the at least one glucose measurement being greater than the first glucose threshold.

12 . The diabetes management system of claim 1 wherein the diabetes management application compares the at least one glucose measurement to a second glucose threshold.

13 . The diabetes management system of claim 12 wherein the diabetes management application displays, on the user display of the mobile computing device, a message indicating the at least one glucose measurement is low in response to the at least one glucose measurement being less than the second glucose threshold.

14 . A method for managing diabetes comprising:

receiving a test strip having a reaction site for receiving a sample of fluid from a patient;

measuring glucose in a sample of fluid residing in the test strip and associate identifying information with the glucose measurement;

selectively instructing a handheld medical device to initiate a pairing procedure in response to input received from a user;

displaying a unique identifier associated with the handheld medical device;

determining, in response to the handheld medical device receiving a test strip, whether an auto-send feature is enabled on the handheld medical device;

determining whether the handheld medical device is paired with a mobile computing device;

selectively instructing, in response to the determination of whether the auto-send feature is enabled and the determination of whether the handheld medical device is paired with a mobile computing device, the handheld medical device to establish a wireless connection and communicate the glucose measurement and the identifying information;

processing a plurality of glucose measurements and identifying information associated with each of the plurality of glucose measurements; and

displaying, on a user display of the mobile computing device, a message indicative of at least one glucose measurement.

15 . The method for managing diabetes of claim 14 further comprising displaying, on the user display of the mobile computing device, a list of proximally located wireless devices and receiving, via input from the user, the unique identifier.

16 . The method for managing diabetes of claim 15 further comprising paring the mobile computing device to the handheld medical device in response to receiving the unique identifier.

17 . The method for managing diabetes of claim 16 further comprising enabling the auto-send feature on the handheld medical device in response to the user selecting the auto-send feature on the mobile computing device.

18 . The method for managing diabetes of claim 14 further comprising instructing, in response to the auto-send feature being enabled and the handheld medical device being paired with a mobile computing device, the handheld medical device a wireless connection with the mobile computing device and to communicate the glucose measurement and the identifying information.

19 . The method for managing diabetes of claim 14 further comprising comparing the at least one glucose measurement to a first glucose threshold and displaying, on the user display of the mobile computing device, a message indicating the at least one glucose measurement is high in response to the at least one glucose measurement being greater than the first glucose threshold.

20 . The method for managing diabetes of claim 14 further comprising comparing the at least one glucose measurement to a second glucose threshold and displaying, on the user display of the mobile computing device, a message indicating the at least one glucose measurement is low in response to the at least one glucose measurement being greater than the second glucose threshold.