Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2012 Jul;14(7):624-9.
doi: 10.1089/dia.2012.0010. Epub 2012 Apr 18.

Impact of a telemedicine system with automated reminders on outcomes in women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Carol J Homko  1 , Larry C Deeb, Kimberly Rohrbacher, Wadia Mulla, Dimtrios Mastrogiannis, John Gaughan, William P Santamore, Alfred A Bove
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Impact of a telemedicine system with automated reminders on outcomes in women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Carol J Homko et al. Diabetes Technol Ther. 2012 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Health information technology has been proven to be a successful tool for the management of patients with multiple medical conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an enhanced telemedicine system on glucose control and pregnancy outcomes in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Subjects and methods: We used an Internet-based telemedicine system to also allow interactive voice response phone communication between patients and providers and to provide automated reminders to transmit data. Women with GDM were randomized to either the telemedicine group (n=40) or the control group (n=40) and asked to monitor their blood glucose levels four times a day. Women in the intervention group transmitted those values via the telemedicine system, whereas women in the control group maintained paper logbooks, which were reviewed at prenatal visits. Primary outcomes were infant birth weight and maternal glucose control. Data collection included blood glucose records, transmission rates for the intervention group, and chart review.

Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups (telemedicine vs. controls) in regard to maternal blood glucose values or infant birth weight. However, adding telephone access and reminders increased transmission rates of data in the intervention group compared with the intervention group in our previous study (35.6±32.3 sets of data vs.17.4±16.9 sets of data; P<0.01).

Conclusions: Our enhanced telemedicine monitoring system increased system utilization and contact between women with GDM and their healthcare providers but did not impact upon pregnancy outcomes.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00778804.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Schematic representation of the integrated Internet-based informatics application and interactive voice response (IVR) system. DB, database.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Engelgau MM. Herman WH. Smith PJ. German RR. Aubert RE. The epidemiology of diabetes and pregnancy in the U.S., 1988. Diabetes Care. 1995;18:1029–1033. - PubMed
    1. Coustan DR. Diabetes in America. 2nd. Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; 1995. Gestational diabetes.
    1. Ferrara A. Increasing prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus: a public health perspective. Diabetes Care. 2007;30(Suppl 2):S141–S146. - PubMed
    1. International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups Consensus Panel. International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups recommendations on the diagnosis and classification of hyperglycemia in pregnancy. Diabetes Care. 2010;33:676–682. - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Diabetes Association: Standards of medical care in diabetes—2011. Diabetes Care. 2011;34(Suppl 1):S11–S61. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data