Impact of COVID-19 on Health Economics and Technology of Diabetes Care: Use Cases of Real-Time Continuous Glucose Monitoring to Transform Health Care During a Global Pandemic

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities and placed tremendous financial pressure on nearly all aspects of the U.S. health care system. Diabetes care is an example of the confluence of the pandemic and heightened importance of technology in changing care delivery. It has been estimated the added total direct U.S. medical cost burden due to COVID-19 to range between $160B (20% of the population infected) and $650B (80% of the population infected) over the course of the pandemic. The corresponding range for the population with diabetes is between $16B and $65B, representing between 5% and 20% of overall diabetes expenditure in the United States. We examine the evidence to support allocating part of this added spend to infrastructure capabilities to accelerate remote monitoring and management of diabetes. Methods and Results: We reviewed recent topical literature and COVID-19-related analyses in the public health, health technology, and health economics fields in addition to databases and surveys from government sources and the private sector. We summarized findings on use cases for real-time continuous glucose monitoring in the community, for telehealth, and in the hospital setting to highlight the successes and challenges of accelerating the adoption of a digital technology out of necessity during the pandemic and beyond. Conclusions: One critical and lasting consequence of the pandemic will be the accelerated adoption of digital technology in health care delivery. We conclude by discussing ways in which the changes wrought by COVID-19 from a health care, policy, and economics perspective can add value and are likely to endure postpandemic.

Digital technologies in the care of people with diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review

“…It is also considered what critical and lasting consequence of the pandemic will be the accelerated adoption of digital technology in health care provision. In this context, it is found that DM care is an excellent example of the confluence of the pandemic and the growing importance of technology to transform care delivery and maximize results, despite the macro challenges (43) .…”

Telemedicine for the Clinical Management of Diabetes; Implications and Considerations After COVID-19 Experience

“…The availability of CGM devices has enabled diabetic patients and physicians to share and discuss together the remote blood glucose metrics and glucose profile downloads during this period. Data obtained from CGM have shown the significant improvement of several glycaemic indices, such as glucose time in range (TIR), time above range (TAR), time below range (TBR), and glucose variability [ 53 , 54 ]. As a consequence, an amelioration of glycated haemoglobin was observed.…”

Impact of My Dose Coach App Frequency of Use on Clinical Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes

“…The use of such technologies may be even more relevant in situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, during which access to healthcare providers has been more challenging. In this unprecedented period, the need for and utility of virtual/teleconsultations and diabetes technology for disease management has become increasingly apparent [ 15 , 16 ].…”