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. 2023 Jul;17(4):895-900.
doi: 10.1177/19322968231162866. Epub 2023 Mar 30.

In-Person and Telehealth Provider Access and Glycemic Control for People With Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Leslie Eiland  1 , Proleta Datta  2 , Kaeli Samson  3 , Jerrod Anzalone  4 , Anthony Donovan  5 , Carrie McAdam-Marx  6
Affiliations

In-Person and Telehealth Provider Access and Glycemic Control for People With Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Leslie Eiland et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2023 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Ambulatory care underwent rapid changes at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Care for people with diabetes shifted from an almost exclusively in-person model to a hybrid model consisting of in-person visits, telehealth visits, phone calls, and asynchronous messaging.

Methods: We analyzed data for all patients with diabetes and established with a provider at a large academic medical center to identify in-person and telehealth ambulatory provider visits over two periods of time (a "pre-COVID" and "COVID" period).

Results: While the number of people with diabetes and any ambulatory provider visit decreased during the COVID period, telehealth saw massive growth. Per Hemoglobin A1c, glycemic control remained stable from the pre-COVID to COVID time periods.

Conclusions: Findings support continued use of telehealth, and we anticipate hybrid models of care will be utilized for people with diabetes beyond the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; diabetes; healthcare access; hemoglobin A1c; telehealth.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: LE: ProventionBio, Sanofi, Roche, and Cecelia Health. PD, KS, JA, AD, and CMM report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proportion with ambulatory provider visits by any telehealth or all in-person for patients with diabetes during COVID and pre-COVID study periods.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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