Effects of nurse tele support via telephone calls on transition between specialized and primary care in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients: a CONSORT-compliant randomized clinical trial

The role of telemedicine in the transition to primary care for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is yet unknown. We aimed to evaluate this issue in well-controlled T2DM patients discharged from a tertiary clinic.

This is a CONSORT-compliant 12-month randomized clinical trial (RCT). T2DM patients with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) < 8%, being discharged to primary care from a tertiary clinic, were recruited. The intervention group periodically received nurse phone calls focusing on education. The control group received primary care as usual. The main outcome was glycemic control (HbA1c) at 12 months.

147 patients were randomized (73 in intervention vs. 74 in control groups) with no differences in baseline data. After one year, we found no differences between groups in HbA1c (7.46% ± 1.37 in intervention vs. 7.54% ± 1.6 in control group; P = 0.76). HbA1c slightly increased from baseline in both groups (0.46% in intervention vs. 0.64% in control group) at 12 months, without differences between them (P = 0.69).

A telemedicine intervention based on phone calls plus primary care shows a similar effect to primary care alone on T2DM patients’ HbA1c after tertiary clinic discharge. Patients remained with a reasonable HbA1c during the trial, suggesting that the transition to primary care was safe.

Clinical Trials, NCT02768480. Registered on April 29, 2016.