Telemedicine improved diabetic management.
Effective control of diabetes is known to delay or prevent the end-organ complications of this disease. Can telemedicine improve a patient's ability to self-manage diabetes? Twenty-eight patients entered a study comparing home telemedicine consultation with standard outpatient care. A nurse case manager contacted the telemedicine group once a week under the direction of a primary care physician, who contacted the telemedicine group once a month. Laboratory studies and total body weight were measured at the beginning and at the end of the 3-month study. The hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and total body weight improved significantly in the intervention (telemedicine) group, as shown by a 16% reduction in mean HbA1c level (from 9.5 to 8.2%) and a 4% mean weight reduction (from 214.3 to 206.7 pounds). Based on our experience, we present a functionally based telemedicine classification system to improve the application of electronic medicine in future studies.
Whitlock
W L
WL
Center for Total Access, Southeastern Regional Medical Command, Fort Gordon, GA 30905-5650, USA.
Brown
A
A
Moore
K
K
Pavliscsak
H
H
Dingbaum
A
A
Lacefield
D
D
Buker
K
K
Xenakis
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019468:Disease Management; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration*
D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin