einstein (São Paulo). 17/out/2024;22:eAO0748.

Elevating care: assessing the impact of telemonitoring on diabetes management at a cutting-edge quaternary hospital

Tatianna Pinheiro da Costa

Rozzino

, Thalita Barreira Modena

Cardim

, Claudia Regina

Laselva

, Carolina de Lima

Pires

, Carolina Muriel Pongillo

Mendonça

, Milena Siciliano

Nascimento

DOI: 10.31744/einstein_journal/2024AO0748

Highlights

Telemonitoring reduced hospital readmissions in patients enrolled in the diabetes program by 15.4%.
Men patients who received telemonitoring had lower readmission rates than those who did not.
There was a difference in the readmission rate between those who underwent telemonitoring and those who did not in patients aged <60 and >75 years.
Patients who stayed >10 days and underwent postdischarge telemonitoring had a lower readmission rate than those who did not undergo telemonitoring.

ABSTRACT

Objective:

To assess whether post-discharge telemonitoring reduces hospital readmission in patients participating in the diabetes care program.

Methods:

This retrospective cohort study was conducted from June 2021 to December 2022 and included patients who were enrolled in the Diabetes Program under a hyperglycemia treatment protocol and eligible for post-discharge telemonitoring. The variables included age, sex, diagnosis, hospital stay, LACE Score, and readmission rate.

Results:

Among 165 patients who underwent telemonitoring, significant differences emerged in hospital readmission rates between those with and without telemonitoring (p=0.015), with a 15.4% lower readmission rate in the telemonitoring group (95%CI= 3.0-27.9%). Subgroup analyses revealed higher readmission rates in men without telemonitoring (15.2% difference; 95%CI= 0.4-30.0%; p=0.045), and in age groups ≤60 and ≥75 years without telemonitoring (24.2% difference; 95%CI= 4.5-43.9%; p=0.016 for ≤60 years; 37.1% difference; 95%CI= 9.9% to 64.2%; p=0.007 for ≥75 years). Additionally, patients with prolonged hospital stays (>7 days) without telemonitoring had higher readmission rates (19.5% difference; 95%CI= 4.5%-34.5%; p=0.011).

Conclusion:

This study suggests that post-discharge telemonitoring can effectively lower hospital readmission rates in diabetes management programs, potentially offering improved health outcomes, cost savings, and enhanced healthcare delivery to patients.

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