Sustaining telehealth in pediatric diabetology beyond COVID-19: How to set the tone

Abstract

In the post-COVID-19 era, telehealth experience and knowledge must be structured to deliver high-quality care. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease that lends itself to being a model for telehealth diffusion, especially in the pediatric setting where the use of cloud-connected technologies is widespread. Here, we present “how to set the tone” and manage a telemedicine session according to our experiences and those reported in the literature, according to the health professional perspective. A practical workflow on how healthcare professionals can structure a virtual diabetes clinic is reported, as well as critical issues related to limits in physical examination, communication registers, relationships, and visit settings. A proactive virtual visit model could be feasible, stratifying patients according to continuous glucose monitoring metrics, and personalized interventions can be provided to each patient. Analysis of benefits and hassles due to telehealth for each patient has to be considered, as well as their personal perspective, expectations, and reported barriers, mainly related to connection issues and digital literacy.