Trends in Telehealth Care for Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The significance of this large claims data analysis documents widespread adoption of telehealth services by patients with diabetes during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing insight into the role of telehealth in a ‘new normal’ of healthcare delivery in the US. The analysis can assist program development at scale for patients with diabetes. The analysis is from the COVID19 Healthcare Coalition (C19HCC) and Telehealth Impact Study. It compares the rates of telehealth use in the 1-year pre and 1-year post onset of the COVID-19 pandemic among a population of 8,339,633 patients with diabetes. Rapid use of telehealth by diabetes patients occurred in 2020 with a high of twenty-seven percent (27%) user rate declining to approximately 13%. During the first 12 months of the pandemic, 98% of diabetics used telehealth services four or fewer telehealth visits. 
 
Authors suggest telehealth can enhance patient care and that it will become a best practice for routine care of patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions with interactions at two to four times per year, supplemented with remote monitoring for glucose, blood pressure and weight. Further research will be needed to measure the impact on glycemic control, patient satisfaction and other outcomes. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and other payers are encouraged to embrace the use of telehealth based on this real-world experience.
 
Authors: Francis X. Campion, MD, Lucie Duffy, Ricardo Rojas, Aaron Burgman, MS, Lindsey Sangaralingham, MPH, Peter Sylvester