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. 2021 Dec;22(8):1115-1119.
doi: 10.1111/pedi.13272. Epub 2021 Nov 16.

Telemedicine and COVID-19 pandemic: The perfect storm to mark a change in diabetes care. Results from a world-wide cross-sectional web-based survey

Elisa Giani  1 , Klemen Dovc  2 , Tiago Jeronimo Dos Santos  3   4 , Agata Chobot  5   6 , Katarina Braune  7 , Roque Cardona-Hernandez  8 , Carine De Beaufort  9 , Andrea E Scaramuzza  10 ; ISPAD Jenious Group
Affiliations

Telemedicine and COVID-19 pandemic: The perfect storm to mark a change in diabetes care. Results from a world-wide cross-sectional web-based survey

Elisa Giani et al. Pediatr Diabetes. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Telemedicine for routine care of people with diabetes (PwD) during the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly increased in many countries, helping to address the several barriers usually seen.

Objective: This study aimed to describe healthcare professionals' (HCPs) experience on telemedicine use in diabetes care and investigate the changes and challenges associated with its implementation.

Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey was distributed through the global network of JENIOUS members of ISPAD. Respondents' professional and practice profiles, clinic sizes, their country of practice, and data regarding local telemedicine practices during COVID-19 pandemic were investigated.

Results: Answers from 209 HCPs from 33 countries were analyzed. During the pandemic, the proportion of PwD receiving telemedicine visits increased from <10% (65.1% of responders) to >50% (66.5%). There was an increase in specific privacy requirements for remote visits (37.3% to 75.6%), data protection policies (42.6% to 74.2%) and reimbursement for remote care (from 41.1% to 76.6%). Overall, 83.3% HCPs reported to be satisfied with the use of telemedicine. Some concerns (17.5%) about the complexity and heterogeneity of the digital platforms to be managed in everyday practice remain, feeding the need for unifying and making interoperable the tools for remote care. Also, 45.5% of professionals reported to feel stressed by the need for extra-time for telemedicine consultations.

Conclusions: Telemedicine was rapidly and broadly adopted during the pandemic globally. Some issues related to its use were promptly addressed by local institutions. Challenges with the use of different platforms and for the need of extra-time still remain to be solved.

Keywords: COVID-19; pediatrics; telehealth; telemedicine; type 1 diabetes; virtual.

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Conflict of interest statement

Katarina Braune received grants from the European Commission, the Berlin Institute of Health and the Wellcome Trust; and received fees for medical consulting and public speaking from Roche Diabetes Care, Dexcom, Medtronic Diabetes, Diabeloop, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi Diabetes and BCG Digital Ventures; all outside the submitted work. Katarina Braune received honoraria for participation on the speaker's bureau of Pfizer, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Agata Chobot has spoken for Medtronic, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. No conflict of interest with this paper. Roque Cardona‐Hernandez has received honoraria for participation on the speaker's bureau of Eli Lilly, Medtonic, Novo‐Nordisk and Sanofi and advisory boards of Abbott and Novo‐Nordisk. No conflict of interest with this paper. Carine De Beaufort has contributed to the Medtronic e learning tool development. No conflict of Interest with this paper. Andrea E Scaramuzza has spoken for Sanofi and Abbott, has received support for attending meeting from Movi and has served on the advisory board for Medtronic and Movi. No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

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