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. 2015 May 14;10(5):e0126858.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126858. eCollection 2015.

Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus through Telemedicine

Claudio Carallo  1 , Faustina Barbara Scavelli  1 , Maurizio Cipolla  2 , Valentina Merante  1 , Valeria Medaglia  1 , Concetta Irace  1 , Agostino Gnasso  1 ; Progetto Diabete Calabria
Collaborators, Affiliations

Management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus through Telemedicine

Claudio Carallo et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus T2DM has a huge and growing burden on public health, whereas new care models are not implemented into clinical practice; in fact the purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a program of integrated care for T2DM, compared with ordinary diligence.

Methods: "Progetto Diabete Calabria" is a new organizational model for the management of patients with diabetes mellitus, based on General Practitioners (GPs) empowerment and the use of a web-based electronic health record, shared in remote consultations among GPs and Hospital Consultants. One-year change in glucose and main cardiovascular risk factors control in 104 patients (Cases) following this integrated care program has been evaluated and compared with that of 208 control patients (Controls) matched for age, gender, and cardiometabolic profile, and followed in an ordinary outpatient medical management by the Consultants only. Both patient groups had Day Hospitals before and after the study period.

Results: The mean number of accesses to the Consultants during the study was 0.6 ± 0.9 for Cases, and 1.3 ± 1.5 for Controls (p<0.0001). At follow-up, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) significantly decreased from 58 ± 6 to 54 ± 8 mmol/mol in Cases only (p=0.01); LDL cholesterol decreased in both groups; body mass index decreased in Cases only, from 31.0 ± 4.8 to 30.5 ± 4.6 kg/m(2) (p=0.03).

Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that a health care program based on GPs empowerment and taking care plus remote consultation with Consultants is at least as effective as standard outpatient management, in order to improve the control of T2DM.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Variations in glycemic, lipidic and body fat indexes within cases and controls during the study project.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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