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. 2024 Sep;18(5):1102-1108.
doi: 10.1177/19322968231159401. Epub 2023 Apr 7.

Electronic Dashboard to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Lily Sandblom  1 , Chirag Kapadia  2 , Vinay Vaidya  2 , Melissa Chambers  2 , Rob Gonsalves  2 , Lea Ann Holzmeister  2 , Fran Hoekstra  2 , Stewart Goldman  2
Affiliations

Electronic Dashboard to Improve Outcomes in Pediatric Patients With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Lily Sandblom et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Background and objectives: Incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is increasing, and these patients often have poor glycemic control. Electronic dashboards summating patient data have been shown to improve patient outcomes in other conditions. In addition, educating patients on T1DM has shown to improve glycated hemoglobin (A1C) levels. We hypothesized that using data from the electronic dashboard to monitor defined diabetes management activities to implement population-based interventions would improve patient outcomes.

Methods: Inclusion criteria included patients aged 0 to 18 years at Phoenix Children's Hospital with T1DM. Patient data were collected via the electronic dashboard, and both diabetes management activities (A1C, patient admissions, and visits to the emergency department) and patient outcomes (patient education, appointment compliance, follow-up after hospital admission) were analyzed.

Results: This study revealed that following implementation of the electronic dashboard, the percentage of patients receiving appropriate education increased from 48% to 80% (Z-score = 23.55, P < .0001), the percentage of patients attending the appropriate number of appointments increased from 50% to 68.2%, and the percentage of patients receiving follow-up care within 40 days after a hospital admission increased from 43% to 70%. The median A1C level decreased from 9.1% to 8.2% (Z-score = -6.74, P < .0001), and patient admissions and visits to the emergency department decreased by 20%.

Conclusions: This study shows, with the implementation of an electronic dashboard, we were able to improve outcomes for our pediatric patients with T1DM. This tool can be used at other institutions to improve care and outcomes for pediatric patients with T1DM and other chronic conditions.

Keywords: electronic dashboard; glycemic control; patient education; pediatrics; type 1 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Overall depiction of dashboard interface. Abbreviations: T1DM, type 1 diabetes mellitus; ED, emergency department; A1C, glycated hemoglobin; ADA, American Diabetes Association; MRN, medical record number; SC, smart chart; PCCN, Phoenix Children’s Care Center; MD, medical doctor.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Rates of diabetes management activities contributing to glycemic control in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus prior to and following the implementation of the electronic dashboard. Abbreviations: DB, dashboard.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Percentage of patients in A1C ranges each year following the implementation of electronic dashboard and related interventions. Abbreviation: A1C, glycated hemoglobin.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
A1C improvements each year and corresponding increase in total patient population. Abbreviations: A1C, glycated hemoglobin; T1D, type 1 diabetes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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