OBJECTIVES:

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a burdensome condition for individuals to live with and an increasingly costly condition for health services to treat. Cost-effective treatment strategies are required to delay the onset and slow the progression of diabetes related complications. Telemedicine is an expanded term in health information technology that comprises procedures for transmitting medical information electronically to improve patients’ health status. The objective of this study is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of telemedicine in participants with DM.

METHODS:

A systematic literature search in Embase and Medline database through Ovid was conducted to identify studies reporting use of telemedicine (teleoptholmology, telemonitoring and telephone services) in DM patients. Two independent reviewers performed the screening. The cost-effectiveness of telemedicine was assessed using Incremental Cost- Effectiveness Ratios (ICERs) in DM patients.

RESULTS:

Of 1238 retrieved articles, 11 studies from 5 geographies (UK, US, Europe, Asia and Canada) were included. Most of the studies used cost-effectiveness analysis and Markov model. Healthcare providers were the main source of total cost.

The results of the systematic search reported that overall cost-effectiveness of telemedicine compared to control group with a mean (95% CI) ICER of $ 43179.20 (12300-74100) per QALY gained. Teleoptholmology strategy was the most cost-effective for the diabetic retinopathy patients with ICER of $ 33552.27 (6250-60900). Telemonitoring and telephone services were also reported cost-effective for the management of DM.

CONCLUSIONS:

Results from the included studies suggest that telemedicine is cost-effective in DM patients across multiple settings. Further economics studies are required to justify that telemedicine as an intervention is a cost-effective means of delivering good healthcare.