SUN-185 Long Term Glycemic Improvement In A Successful Telehealth Diabetes Educational Model

Abstract E. Calderon Martinez: None. Y. Chen: None. W.L. Ng: None. S. Sayed: None. R. Joshi: None. Introduction: Telehealth utilization for diabetes care has been shown to be effective. Multiple styles of diabetes self-management and education programs (DSME) were studied and mostly reported short-term successes in glycemic control without long-term data. We combined the telehealth platform and diabetes education into a 12-week telemedicine educational bootcamp for diabetes care at UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) Central Pa. Methods: Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) > 8.0%, and were seen at ambulatory clinics of UPMC Central Pa. from September 2020 to November 2021 were voluntarily enrolled. Patients were assigned to education sessions with dietitians and diabetic educators alternatively on an every-other-week basis. Telehealth and referral systems were integrated into Epic's electronic health record. Patients’ baseline demographics, HbA1c, weight, body mass index (BMI), systolic (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were compared 12 weeks after the intervention, 6 months, and 1 year after the intervention. Results: A total of 119 patients were enrolled, with a baseline mean HbA1c being 10.3% (SD 2.0%), mean weight 229.4 lbs. (SD 66.2 lbs.), mean BMI 36.6 (SD 10.2), SBP 130.4 mmHg (SD 14.6), and DBP 79.2 mmHg (SD 10.2). There was a uniformed reduction of mean HbA1c from baseline to 12 weeks (–1.9%, SD 2.2, p<0.001), 6 months (-2.1, SD 2.3, p<0.001), and 1 year (-2.2, SD 2.3, p<0.001) post-intervention. There were also significant changes in weight after bootcamp (-4.0 lbs., SD 14.9, p=0.0038), 6 months (-4.9 lbs., SD 17.3, p=0.0027), and 12 months (-5.6 lbs., SD 20.1, p= 0.0029) from intervention respectively. Mean BMI downtrended similarly as weight to 35.9 (SD 9.7) at post-intervention, 35.8 (SD 9.4) at 6 months, and 35.7(SD 9.6) at 12 months of intervention. No change in SBP or DBP was noted. Conclusions: Our results showed a significant reduction and continuous stabilization of mean HbA1c, weight, and BMI up to 12 months from intervention, which proves this DSME model to be successful. Every two weeks education via telehealth provided easier access with better patient attendance, frequent interaction, and potentially the quality of human interaction is better and more personalized than computerized education which all contributes to retention of the knowledge. Sunday, June 2, 2024