The use of remote patient monitoring (RPM) to track blood glucose levels has been shown to reduce HbA1c levels in diabetic patients over a year-long period. As reported in Primary Care Diabetes, the results of this study indicate that consistent use of RPM can help patients maintain lower HbA1c levels, which leads to better overall health outcomes and lessens the likelihood of associated complications, such as retinopathy and nephropathy.
The data include HbA1c values for 302 patients after 6 months of RPM enrollment and for 125 participants after an additional 6 months of using RPM, comparing these readings with baseline HbA1c levels at the start of the study. Overall, patients saw a decrease in their HbA1c levels of 1.8% at the 6-month check and 1.3% at 12 months relative to the initiation of the experiment.
The report also looked at whether the type of clinic where patients received treatment or their socioeconomic status showed any differential benefit in the effects of RPM use. Neither factor resulted in a significant difference in diabetes control relative to other groups, suggesting that RPM is a useful tool to provide care to underserved populations. The frequent check-ins that RPM offers may be especially important for patients in rural communities who cannot regularly access in-person care.
For diabetic patients, RPM is most commonly used to monitor blood glucose levels via a blood glucometer or a continuous glucose monitor. Recently, additional tools have been developed to regularly check for signs of diabetes-related foot disease.
