Telehealth Diabetes Program Hits the Delta

The Diabetes Telehealth Network is only 90 days old, but talk of taking it global has already started.

The pilot program uses telehealth to treat diabetes patients in the Mississippi Delta. Care is administered by doctors at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in partnership with North Sunflower Medical Center in Ruleville.

The program started in January and is a partnership between UMMC, NSMC, GE Healthcare, Intel-GE Care Innovations and C Spire. Patient recruitment started in the Delta in August, with the hopes of eventually enrolling 200.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn made a stop in Ruleville Wednesday as part of her trip to Mississippi. Clyburn, whose mother is diabetic, said the program gives her “hope at managing this disease.”

Patients receive tablets that allow health care providers to remotely manage those with chronic conditions. With their tablets, patients share health data, such as weight, blood pressure and glucose levels, and transmit that daily to clinicians.

That daily interaction is designed to give clinicians a more complete view of a patient’s health status, permitting earlier, proactive care. C Spire provides the high-speed mobile broadband communications network for the provider-patient connection.

“We can create the model for this” that will be copied around the world said Joanie Perkins, NSMC’s chief development officer.

It has worked for Annie Ford.

“In the beginning, I was afraid because I knew my diabetes wasn’t where it should be, but in these last few weeks, I’ve learned more about my diabetes than the past 15 years I’ve had it,” Ford said. “I’m enjoying it, and I love my tablet because it’s teaching me a lot. You can never learn too much about your diabetes.”

Said patient Jackie Collins: “One morning I got up and my blood sugar was too low — it was 67 — and the tablet not only warned me that it was low, but it also gave me guidance on what I should do to help bring it up in a healthy way. Before I would have drank a soda, but the tablet told me orange juice is the best thing.

“It’s been an awesome experience.”

In 2010, 12.1 percent of adults in the Mississippi Delta, among the more underserved and impoverished regions of the U.S., reported being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Of that group, 293 died from complications related to the disease.

In 2012, diabetic medical expenses in Mississippi totaled $2.74 billion, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Gov. Phil Bryant said the constant care telehealth provides could significantly lower those costs.

“Most importantly, we’ll save lives,” he said. “This is not just about Sunflower County. This is a global issue. Finally, the Delta is being recognized for something it’s doing right.”

Article courtesy of Clay Chandler at The Clarion Ledger in Jackson.