Outreach Method Predicts Patient Engagement during Sustained Care Disruption

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused sustained disruptions in access to usual diabetes care. In response to the high number of cancelations, an academic, urban diabetes program transitioned to virtual visits and launched an initiative to provide outreach to patients who canceled an appointment between Mar 16 and Jun 19, 2020. Members of the diabetes team used a standardized approach to prevent delayed care or disengagement. Method of contact was defined as Reached (two-way communication between clinician and patient by phone or EHR portal message), Message Left (e.g., voicemail) and No Contact. Engagement was defined as booking a follow up appointment and keeping the appointment. A total of 787 patients were determined to have canceled visits due to the pandemic. Mean (SD) age was 61.7 yrs (14.2), 53.7% female, 67.3% white, baseline A1c 7.96% (1.81). Of the 648 visits booked, 519 (80%) were kept. Patients who were reached were more likely to book (OR = 2.43, p<0.001) and keep an appointment (OR = 2.39, p<0.001) compared to no contact or message left. Older age was a significant predictor of booking (OR = 1.014 for each year older, p=0.037). Patients on insulin were more likely to keep their appointment (OR = 1.70, p=0.008), while patients with higher HbA1c were less likely to (OR = 0.87 for each 1.0% increase in HbA1c, p=0.011). These findings suggest that for systems designed to optimize engagement during care disruption, one-way communication is no better than no contact, and two-way communication increases the likelihood that patients will maintain access to care. In addition, while higher risk patients (e.g., older age or on insulin) may be more incentivized to stay engaged, targeted outreach may be needed for those with chronic poor glycemic control.