Patient and Clinician Perspectives on the Effectiveness of Current Telemedicine Approaches in Endocrinology Care for Type 2 Diabetes: Qualitative Study.

Zupa, Hamm, Alexander, Rosland. Patient and Clinician Perspectives on the Effectiveness of Current Telemedicine Approaches in Endocrinology Care for Type 2 Diabetes: Qualitative Study. JMIR diabetes. 2025 Mar 11; 10:e60765, DOI: 10.2196/60765.

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Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Since the rapid widespread uptake in 2020, the use of telemedicine to deliver diabetes specialty care has persisted. However, evidence evaluating patient and clinician perspectives on benefits, shortcomings, and approaches to improve telemedicine care for type 2 diabetes is limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess clinician and patient perspectives on specific benefits and limitations of current telemedicine care delivery for type 2 diabetes and views on approaches to enhance telemedicine effectiveness for patients who rely on it. METHODS: We conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with diabetes specialty clinicians and adults with type 2 diabetes. We used a qualitative description approach to characterize participant perspectives on care delivery for type 2 diabetes via telemedicine. RESULTS: Both clinicians (n = 15) and patients (n = 13) identify significant benefits of telemedicine in overcoming both physical (geographic and transportation) and scheduling (work commitments and wait times) barriers to specialty care for type 2 diabetes. In addition, telemedicine may enhance communication around diabetes care by improving information sharing between patients and clinicians. However, clinicians identify limited availability of home blood glucose data and vital signs as factors, which impair the optimal management of type 2 diabetes and related comorbid conditions via telemedicine. Previsit preparation, involvement of multidisciplinary providers, and frequent brief check-ins were identified by patients and clinicians as potential strategies to improve the quality of telemedicine care for adults with type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Patients and clinicians identify key strengths of telemedicine in enhancing access to diabetes specialty care for adults with type 2 diabetes and describe approaches to ensure that telemedicine delivers high-quality diabetes care to patients who rely on it.