Potential for remote patient monitoring immense in diabetes care

Endocrine Today

In the past 5 years, what change has had the greatest impact on HbA1c in diabetes care? Is it continuous glucose monitoring? GLP-1 receptor agonists? Automated insulin delivery? Good guesses, but incorrect.

It was actually the lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. OK, not the lockdowns themselves, but the adoption of remote patient monitoring (RPM) and related CPT codes as a result of those lockdowns.

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One large-scale efficacy study of an RDM platform was conducted with a cohort of patients with diabetes. Participants were enrolled in SweetSpot, an RDM service that includes data analytics, risk stratification and data review by certified diabetes care and education specialists (CDCES). Compared with controls, participants showed an average Glycemia Risk Index (GRI) improvement of 9% during the first 3 months and 13% at the 6-month study endpoint. This GRI shift was due to a significant reduction in extreme hypoglycemia (< 55 mg/dL) and severe hyperglycemia (> 250 mg/dL).

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An essential element of RDM is that it can be systematized to generate a steady stream of revenue in a highly time-effective manner. Ralph Oiknine, MD, an endocrinologist in St. Louis and founder of the SweetSpot RDM platform, emphasizes the financial benefits of using a system like his. “Most health insurers, including Medicare, will pay for monthly reviews and interpretation of patient glucose data,” Oiknine said. “We know this benefits the patient, but so few practices are doing it because of their own time constraints and inability to access patient data in an efficient manner. Programs like SweetSpot automate the entire data collection, review and billing process.” Read the full article here: https://www.healio.com/news/endocrinology/20250514/potential-for-remote-patient-monitoring-immense-in-diabetes-care