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Taking Telemedicine to the Next Level in Diabetes Population Management: a Review of the Endo ECHO Model

  • Health Care Delivery Systems and Implementation in Diabetes (EB Morton-Eggleston and ME McDonnell, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Worldwide increases in diabetes prevalence in the face of limited medical resources have prompted international interest in innovative healthcare delivery models. Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a “telementoring” program which has been shown to increase capacity for complex disease management in medically underserved regions. In contrast to a traditional telemedicine model which might connect a specialist with one patient, the ECHO model allows for multiple patients to benefit simultaneously by building new expertise. We recently applied the ECHO model to improve health outcomes of patients with complex diabetes (Endo ECHO) living in rural New Mexico. We describe the design of the Endo ECHO intervention and a 4-year, prospective program evaluation assessing health outcomes, utilization patterns, and cost-effectiveness. The Endo ECHO evaluation will demonstrate whether and to what extent this intervention improves outcomes for patients with complex diabetes living in rural New Mexico, and will serve as proof-of-concept for academic medical centers wishing to replicate the model in underserved regions around the world.

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Acknowledgments

This study is supported by a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Matthew F. Bouchonville

  2. Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Margaret M. Paul

  3. Wagner School of Public Service, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    John Billings

  4. University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Jessica B. Kirk

  5. Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Sanjeev Arora

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  1. Matthew F. Bouchonville
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Correspondence to Matthew F. Bouchonville.

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Matthew F. Bouchonville, Margaret M. Paul, John Billings, Jessica B. Kirk, and Sanjeev Arora declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Health Care Delivery Systems and Implementation in Diabetes

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Bouchonville, M.F., Paul, M.M., Billings, J. et al. Taking Telemedicine to the Next Level in Diabetes Population Management: a Review of the Endo ECHO Model. Curr Diab Rep 16, 96 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-016-0784-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-016-0784-9

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