ARcare works with patients who have prediabetes, are high risk, or have uncontrolled diabetes. They use telehealth to connect to patients in rural areas.
Telehealth Diabetes Education
ARcare patients can choose in-person or remote diabetes education. Patients receive 10 hours of education over a year with 30-minute appointments, tailored to each patient’s needs.
- Patients go to nearest ARcare clinic for telehealth because high speed Internet isn’t available in many areas.
- A nurse or medical assistant is on site to take the patient’s vitals and moderate the telehealth visit. A registered dietician or diabetes educator leads the visit remotely on a screen.
- If needed, pharmacists use telehealth to show patients how to take medications.
- Transportation remains a large barrier. The no-show rate is about 40%. Patients who miss visits receive follow up to reschedule and to ask why they didn’t show up. If they need a ride, ARcare sets one up.
- ARcare uses a tab in the EHR for diabetes education. This gives providers uniform questions and information to share with patients.
- They partner with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to share technology, allowing them to purchase accounts without buying software.
- The health professional invites patients to other events such as cooking and exercise classes.
Data
- In 2019, the average beginning A1c of patients who participated was 8.6%. The average A1c following the program was 8.1%. The average weight loss was 5.33 lbs.
- ARcare is among the highest performers on the UDS uncontrolled diabetes measure.
* article reprinted from the Bureau of Primary Health Care: https://bphc.hrsa.gov/qualityimprovement/promising-practices/index.html/arcare-uses-telehealth-diabetes-education?bclid=IwAR3oz00TgnUyjqVrM2EuwhC0uAA6COGJwoSBraAoZruaaSGXJVEHYPoNX8o
