1245-P: Outcomes among Veterans with T2D at Time of Departure from Virtual Clinic: A Nationwide, Real World Study

Abstract

Lifestyle interventions for type 2 diabetes (T2D) typically have poor retention, and drop out is often assumed to indicate treatment failure. A partnership between the Veterans Health Administration and Virta Health allows Veterans with T2D to enroll in Virta's clinic, which provides carbohydrate restricted nutrition therapy via continuous remote care. We sought to assess change in clinical outcomes upon clinic departure using medical record data. Percent change in clinical outcomes on a per patient basis from enrollment to time of departure were assessed with one sample t tests. Among 677 enrolled Veterans, 270 (40.0%) departed the clinic within 2 years (283±184 days in treatment; enrollment: age 58±9y, 13% female, 235±47 lb, 179±86 mg/dl glucose, 2.3±0.9 T2D medications) . Weight was significantly reduced at time of departure in all groups initiating nutrition therapy (p<0.05) , although clinically significant weight loss was only achieved among those who left after one year (Table 1) . Percent change in blood glucose was unchanged (p>0.05) despite lower mean glucose which occurred concurrent with medication deprescription in most groups (p<0.05) . These results show that Veterans initiating therapy experienced clinical improvements prior to clinic departure and return to standard care, particularly in weight after one year of treatment and in reduced need for medication to maintain glycemia. Disclosure B.Fell: Employee; Virta Health Corp., Stock/Shareholder; Virta Health Corp. M.Vantieghem: Employee; Virta Health Corp., Stock/Shareholder; Virta Health Corp. A.L.Mckenzie: Employee; Virta Health Corp., Stock/Shareholder; Virta Health Corp. R.E.Ratner: Employee; Virta Health Corp.