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

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.