Management of diabetes mellitus through teleconsultation during COVID-19 and similar scenarios - Guidelines from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) expert group

Gokul Sarveswaran; Sukanya Rangamani; Amerta Ghosh; Anil Bhansali; Mala Dharmalingam; Ambika Gopalakrishnan Unnikrishnan; Naval Kishore Vikram; Prashant Mathur; Anoop Misra

doi:10.1016/j.dsx.2021.102242

Management of diabetes mellitus through teleconsultation during COVID-19 and similar scenarios - Guidelines from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) expert group

Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2021 Sep-Oct;15(5):102242. doi: 10.1016/j.dsx.2021.102242. Epub 2021 Aug 8.

Authors

Gokul Sarveswaran¹, Sukanya Rangamani², Amerta Ghosh³, Anil Bhansali⁴, Mala Dharmalingam⁵, Ambika Gopalakrishnan Unnikrishnan⁶, Naval Kishore Vikram⁷, Prashant Mathur⁸, Anoop Misra⁹

Affiliations

¹ ICMR - National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru, Karnataka, 562 110, India. Electronic address: gokuls.ncdir@icmr.gov.in.
² ICMR - National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru, Karnataka, 562 110, India. Electronic address: sukanya@ncdirindia.org.
³ Diabetology, Fortis C-DOC Center of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases, and Endocrinology, New Delhi, 110 048, India. Electronic address: dramritaghosh@outlook.com.
⁴ Department of Endocrinology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, 160 012, India. Electronic address: anilbhansaliendocrine@gmail.com.
⁵ Department of Endocrinology, M S Ramaiah Medical College, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560 054, India. Electronic address: drmaladharmalingam@gmail.com.
⁶ Chellaram Diabetes Institute, Pune, Maharashtra, 411 021, India. Electronic address: unnikrishnanag@gmail.com.
⁷ Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, 110 029, India. Electronic address: navalvikram@gmail.com.
⁸ ICMR - National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru, Karnataka, 562 110, India. Electronic address: director-ncdir@icmr.gov.in.
⁹ Fortis C-DOC Center of Excellence for Diabetes, Metabolic Diseases, and Endocrinology, New Delhi, 110 048, India. Electronic address: anoopmisra@gmail.com.

Abstract

Introduction: Emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased use of telemedicine in health care delivery. Telemedicine facilitates long-term clinical care for monitoring and prevention of complications of diabetes mellitus.

Guidelines: Precise indications for teleconsultation, clinical care services which can be provided, and good clinical practices to be followed during teleconsultation are explained. Guidance on risk assessment and health education for diabetes risk factors, counselling for blood glucose monitoring, treatment compliance, and prevention of complications are described.

Conclusion: The guidelines will help physicians in adopting teleconsultation for management of diabetes mellitus, facilitate access to diabetes care and improve health outcomes.

Keywords: COVID-19; Diabetes MellitusType 2; Management; Teleconsultation; Telemedicine.

Publication types

Practice Guideline
Review

MeSH terms

Biomedical Research / organization & administration
Biomedical Research / standards
COVID-19 / epidemiology*
COVID-19 / prevention & control
Communicable Disease Control / methods
Communicable Disease Control / organization & administration
Communicable Disease Control / standards
Delivery of Health Care / organization & administration
Delivery of Health Care / standards
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / epidemiology
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / therapy*
Expert Testimony
Humans
India / epidemiology
Pandemics
Remote Consultation / methods
Remote Consultation / organization & administration
Remote Consultation / standards*
Telemedicine / organization & administration
Telemedicine / standards