November 17, 2020

Clouds and Silver Linings: COVID-19 Pandemic Is an Opportune Moment to Democratize Diabetes Care Through Telehealth

JDST

In the midst of the pandemic my colleague David Kerr, and I crafted this commentary that draws attention to both the clouds and the silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology.

The clouds. The pandemic has exposed the underserved US communities that were already disproportionately impacted by diabetes. Some lack broadband making access to telehealth diabetes care and education services difficult. Research shows that this population is not offered diabetes supplies and technologies with the same frequency of more privileged individuals with diabetes.

The silver linings. We recognized that remote Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) and Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) can effectively be delivered and reimbursed. Our call to action in this commentary is equity -  access to affordable devices and technologies with remote monitoring capabilities for all people with diabetes. Find this publication at this link. It is open access.