Remote Patient Monitoring and Glycemic Control Trends during the Covid-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT

Background and Aims: COVID-19 created challenges to diabetes care and accelerated the need to optimize healthcare delivery outside of traditional settings. Due to subsequent stayat- home orders, many clinicians sought remote patient monitoring (RPM) solutions to remain engaged with their patients with diabetes (PWD) and to provide care. This study examined RPM uptake and diabetes-related outcomes during the COVID- 19 pandemic for PWD using a RPM solution. Method(s) The Glooko platform is used globally by millions of PWD and populates a real world data repository of 100+ billion data points. The analysis included diabetes device syncs from 100,000+ Glooko patient users during Year 2020. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate trends in RPM usage and diabetes outcomes (glucose, self-monitoring, etc.). Result(s) RPM uploads increased by 36% during the "lockdown" and remained high even as clinics reopened. Five months into the pandemic, peak glucose levels on Sundays and Saturdays increased, but remained lower than pre-pandemic levels (-1.2% and -0.7%, respectively). Average glucose levels dropped early on and gradually increased over the year but with lower weekend and holiday spikes. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) readings were within recommended range over 50% of the time and the average number of daily SMBG checks exceeded established clinical guidelines. Additional data will be presented. Conclusion(s) The Glooko RPM platform offered an important clinical tool to providers and patients during the pandemic which resulted in increased engagement, improved glucose trends, and increased self-monitoring. Remote care provided clinics and patients with necessary insights to collaborate and manage diabetes despite the lack of in-clinic visits.