The Use of Telehealth to Improve the Quality of Care for Patients with Diabetes in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review

Abstract

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Delivering care to a diabetic patient is a challenge and burden to healthcare systems. The implementation of novel telehealth technology may improve the quality of care provided to patients and bring numerous benefits to patients and their caregivers. AIM: To conduct a narrative synthesis of articles related to the use of telehealth for diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia and to explore the impact of telehealth on quality of care. To answer the following research questions: 1. What is the impact of using telehealth for delivering care to patients with diabetes in Saudi Arabia? 2. How does telehealth improve the quality of care for diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia? DESIGN OF THE STUDY: Systematic literature review using narrative synthesis. SETTING: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY AND METHODS: A systematic review was conducted to explore the impact of using telehealth on the quality of care provided to a patient with diabetes in SA. A narrative synthesis used to synthesise the finding of interventional and observational studies. Mixed method Appraisal Tool guideline was adopted to assess the quality of the included studies. RESULTS: A total of (n=17) eligible studies were retrieved from searching on databases SCOPUS, Ovid midline, PubMed and Global Index Medicus after duplications removed and inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied for (n=59) studies. Mapping the findings from the review literature with IHI quality dimensions. The literature focused on patients experience as there was a positive and general acceptance and willingness to use telehealth services and studies provided some evidence of the effectiveness of telehealth on enhancing patient’s outcome and knowledge of their condition. IV There was also some discussion of equitability and how different populations especially the vulnerable may benefit from the application of telehealth, but most studies were conducted in urban areas with more affluent populations. There was a lack of studies which monitored dimensions of quality: safety, efficient, timely, and other aspects of patient-centredness although safety was mentioned as a design consideration. CONCLUSION: Overall, there was evidence that telehealth can be effective in improving the care of diabetic patients in KSA. This review identified the research gap in some of the quality aspects such as safe, efficient, and timely. Further studies are necessary to fill this gap. Further research is also needed to explore the benefits of new technology such as robotic, IoT, and VR that could contribute to ease the delivery of care and ensure the continuity of care to a patient with diabetes. KEYWORDS: Diabetic patient – Saudi Arabia – Telehealth, telemedicine, telecare, distance consulting, virtual consulting, remote monitoring, mHealth.