Telehealth more effective than face-to-face

A Townsville doctor has presented ground-breaking research to an international conference about how North Queensland is leading the way in improving the health outcomes for rural patients with diabetes.

Resident medical officer Dr Nisha Nangrani presented the findings of her research at the American Diabetes Association’s 79th Scientific Sessions conference in San Francisco, an international event held over four days attracting 15,000 delegates from 150 countries.

Dr Nangrani’s research showed a dramatic improvement in the health outcomes of diabetes patients in rural North Queensland since the introduction of telehealth.

The study looked primarily at a patients HbA1c, a measure of how well a diabetic’s sugar levels or glycaemia was being controlled. A non-diabetic would have a HbA1c reading at around seven per cent while a reading of above 10 per cent was considered clinically alarming.

“What we found was that patients who were accessing this care via telehealth had significantly better control over their blood sugar than when they had to previously travel for treatment,” Dr Nangrani said.

“The results showed a statistically significant reduction in HbA1c from 9.1 per cent to 8.1 per cent across the 330 patients included in the study.

“This means that there has been measurable improvement in the management of their diabetes because of accessing care through telehealth.”

Dr Nangrani said Australia was at the forefront of telehealth service delivery worldwide and the interest in the support for telehealth on the global stage was extremely high.

“What my research found was that providing this care by telehealth has provided to be more effective to the management of diabetes than face-to-face consultations,” she said.

“The research has also demonstrated that this care has been able to be delivered without compromising on the required levels of clinical standards.

“In Australia we are extremely lucky to have a well incentivised telehealth network and we really are leading the world in delivering improved outcomes for our patients by using this technology.”

Endocrinologist staff specialist Professor Usman Malabu said Dr Nangrani’s research showcased North Queensland as an international leader in diabetes management.

“We established our telehealth endocrinology network across North Queensland and thanks to this research we now have tangible proof of its benefits,” he said.

“The benefits of telehealth in terms of the convenience for the patient, the savings of travel costs are well documented but now we have proof that it is actually delivering better health outcomes as well.

“Certainly, I hope that other specialties and hospitals consider the role that telehealth can play in delivering care to their patients.”

TOWNSVILLE HHS – Telehealth snapshot

• 8000 telehealth appointments a year
• Telehealth used by 80 different medical, surgical, allied health and nursing specialties
• Patients requiring chemotherapy, audiology testing and burns and wound management may be eligible for telehealth appointments
• 105 dedicated video-conferencing machines at The Townsville Hospital
• Townsville first in Australia to deliver drug trials for cancer patients through telehealth

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