Telehealth Diabetes Care

Our experience supporting the Joslin Diabetes team and their patients during COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of the diabetes and mental health telemedicine clinic we’ll be launching this month.

NEW YORK (PRWEB)
July 14, 2020

In partnership with the Helmsley Charitable Trust, Cecelia Health is providing essential clinical support to people of all ages living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes around the country to help them overcome challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since April, Cecelia Health’s team of Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (CDCES) has been working with the Joslin Diabetes Center at SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse and over 50 other university and hospital clinics who are receiving funding from the Helmsley Charitable Trust. They are assisting both patients and clinicians with providing a spectrum of support in managing their insulin-dependent diabetes to ease the daily burden and help improve outcomes. Cecelia Health’s telehealth model has been a critical element for providing diabetes patients with access to care at time when COVID-19 has prevented them from coming into the clinics to meet with endocrinologists and other clinical staff.

The care Cecelia Health CDCESs are providing includes:

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  Remote initiation, education, and troubleshooting continuous glucose monitors (CGM), blood glucose meters (BGM), insulin pumps and smart pen technologies combined with diabetes education to help patients more successfully manage their diabetes condition
• Helping patients prepare for scheduled telemedicine visits by teaching them how to upload their CGM and insulin data
• Educating them on interpreting data from their devices to highlight patterns and trends, thus streamlining and increasing the quality of their visits with the Joslin Diabetes endocrinology team

“Pre-COVID, our clinic was overcrowded, with the waiting room often completely full and providers many times working out of only one exam room.” said Dr. Ruth Weinstock, Founder and Medical Director of the Joslin Diabetes Center at SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse.” Because of this, even as we re-open, telemedicine will have to continue if we are to be safe. We anticipate needing to see almost all our diabetes patients remotely until there is a vaccination.”

Accordingly, Cecelia Health CDCESs have also been working with patients on vital components of a comprehensive diabetes management plan to increase safety such as the use of glucagon, ketone meters, sick day rules, and back-up injection plans.

As the results of this partnership indicate, clinical telehealth support is an important and necessary component of an effective patient care management strategy during COVID-19 and beyond. The diabetes population is very large and growing rapidly and expensive to treat, there are not enough endocrinologists in the U.S. to support them, particularly in rural states and portions of states.

“Our experience supporting the Joslin Diabetes team and their patients during COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of the diabetes and mental health telemedicine clinic we’ll be launching this month. It will enable educating and empowering our patients to successfully manage their condition using diabetes technology, remotely monitoring them, and providing the right interventions to the right patient at the right time. This will increase access to care regardless of geography, optimize health outcomes at the lowest possible cost, and provide a great patient experience.” said Cecelia Health CEO and Founder, David Weingard.

About Cecelia Health

Cecelia Health’s mission is to transform and improve the lives of people living with chronic conditions worldwide. Cecelia Health has a proven track record of driving improved clinical outcomes and return on investment for customers. The Cecelia Health clinical team is comprised of nurses, dietitians, exercise physiologists, pharmacists, and social workers who are passionate about empowering people with chronic conditions to live rich, healthy and fulfilling lives. Cecelia Health partners with ACOs seeking to improve quality measures, and pharmaceutical and medical device companies seeking to improve adherence. Cecelia Health has also engaged in numerous joint initiatives with the JDRF, American Diabetes Association, the Diabetes Research Institute, the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists, and The Helmsley Charitable Trust.

About Upstate Medical University

SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY, is the only academic medical center in Central New York. It is also the region’s largest employer with 9,460 employees. Affiliated with the State University of New York, Upstate’s mission is to improve the health of the community through education, biomedical research and health care. Upstate Medical University’s educational mission is anchored by its four colleges—Medicine, Nursing, Health Professions and Graduate Studies (biomedical sciences). The Upstate University Health System serves 1.8 million people, often the most seriously ill and injured, and includes Upstate University Hospital; Upstate University Hospital at Community Campus; Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, and numerous satellite sites.

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