Improving diabetes care via telemedicine: lessons from the Addressing Diabetes in Tennessee (ADT) project.

The prevalence of diabetes continues to escalate around the world, with an estimated 24 million people affected in the U.S. (1). Its prevalence has more than doubled in Tennessee the last decade from 5.0% in 1997 to 11.0% in 2007 (2), with estimated diabetes related mortality of 31 per 100,000 population (2). Rising prevalence and shortage of physicians, especially in rural areas, contribute to poor outcome in diabetic patients (3). Telemedicine, the transfer of electronic medical data to a remote location utilizing telecommunications technology, may be beneficial in improving access, care, and outcome in diabetic patients. Therefore, we investigated the impact of telemedicine on the quality of care in diabetic patients in five health professional shortage areas with diabetes related mortality rates of 41.5–84.7 per …