NYU Langone Health had been preparing telehealth technologies and infrastructure for its diabetes patients prior to COVID-19 but switched primarily to video visits when the pandemic accelerated earlier this year.
Five details:
1. NYU Langone Health Center for Diabetes and Metabolic Health Director Lauren Golden, MD, said that "with diabetes emerging as a major risk factor for COVID-19, we felt it was crucial to spare our patients the potential exposures that in-person visits would entail."
2. Because many of the center's clinicians were recruited to inpatient floors as part of the health system's COVID-19 response, video visits allowed those who remained in outpatient care to effectively take over management of their colleagues' patients.
3. The diabetes center had established the necessary tech infrastructure for video visits before the pandemic and had already started training patients to collect data on their blood sugars and insulin dosing from remote, personal devices. This preparation helped support the center's virtual transition, Dr. Golden added.
"We sent patients links to software downloads, and most of them were able to figure out how to transmit readings to us online," she said. "We emailed logs to the others, so that they could fill them out and send them back."
4. Video visits have helped support NYU Langone's diabetes team meet patients' changing needs; the center now helps patients by sending links to workouts for new exercise routines and can conference with patients to address stress-relief techniques such as yoga and meditation.
5. The health system expects to continue video visits even after the threat of COVID-19 diminishes.