Abstract #1042704: Effectiveness of Teleconsultations Across Middle East And Africa (MENA) and India In T2DM To Deliver Continuity of Care During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated growth and acceptance of telemedicine services. We evaluated 110 patients across the SugarDoctor database who were already registered before the pandemic and were provided the teleconsultations during COVID-19 pandemic. The teleconsultations were distinctively structured to not just the reactively address the medical issues but also were structured to proactively deliver E health education over the online platform. There was a significant reduction in HbA1c from the mean baseline 9.5% (±1.7, 95% CI 9-10) to 8.6% (±2.5, 95% CI 7.9 to 9.3) (reduction of 0.9%, p = 0.0393). The overall time span in the HbA1c evaluation was 2.9 years (±1.3, 95% CI 2.5 to 3.3). 27 patients were from Mumbai and rest were from MENA, with majority of patients from Saudi Arabia. Varied issues were addressed ranging from HbA1c follow up to providing advise for management of diabetic foot ulcers.The patients expressed satisfaction over the virtual connect for the undivided attention that was provided, with reliable internet connectivity. The new eyeball connect based, remote digital diabetes consultation model has potential to improve glycemic care, which appears to have improvement in the overall quality of life and in long term would mitigate complications due to T2DM. We attribute the impact of teleconsultations for the efficient delivery of diabetes care for the past efforts during the earlier face to face consultations to drive the importance of self-management of diabetes. The role of telehealth in T2DM has expanded dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic and would remain a major practical health care delivery modality going forward.