Telemedicine Decreases No-Show Rates and Achieves Comparable Outcomes in Publicly Insured Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

Background:

Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) require continuous management to achieve optimal outcomes. Socioeconomic barriers can impede the delivery of optimal diabetes care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine likely reduced common barriers to care compared with in-person visits. This study investigated the impact of telemedicine on no-show rates and diabetes outcomes in publicly insured patients and the potential link to reduced socioeconomic barriers.

Methods:

This retrospective study analyzed the records of 819 patients with T2D at the Yale Medicine Diabetes Center (YMDC). From June 2019 to March 2020, patients had in-person clinic visits, followed by telehealth visits from March to December 2020 due to system-wide COVID-19 isolation mandates. No-show rates, glycemic control metrics, and other biomarkers were compared in the same patients between their in-person and telehealth visit periods.

Results:

Patients utilizing telemedicine averaged no-show rates of 0.34 ± 0.69 compared with 1.19 ± 1.30 (P < .001) for in-person visits. Average hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) for telemedicine was 7.93 ± 1.95 compared with 7.91 ± 1.90 (P = .65) for in-person visits. Percentages of patients achieving ≥70% glucose time in range (TIR) on an ambulatory glucose profile (AGP) was 43.90% for telehealth and 45.42% (P = .76) for in-person visits.

Conclusion:

Publicly insured patients with T2D showed significantly reduced no-show rates and comparable glycemic control during telemedicine visits compared with in-person visits. Telemedicine visits may be associated with lower no-show rates due to a reduction of socioeconomic barriers. Future studies are warranted to further clarify potential associations of specific socioeconomic barriers to missed visits.