A virtual glucose management service significantly improved glycemic control in hospitalized patients

Implementation of a virtual glucose management service (vGMS) was associated with significant improvements in glycemic control among hospitalized patients. The system utilized electronic medical records (EMRs) to review patient insulin/glucose charts and dispatch recommendations for managing patients with hyper- or hypoglycemia. The findings of an observational study are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers at three University of California San Francisco hospitals automated detection of inpatients with uncontrolled blood glucose with a daily report generated by the EMR. The report was assessed by a diabetes specialist who then remotely reviewed an insulin/glucose chart in the EMR to determine the appropriate management strategy. Rather than relying on manually contacting clinical teams individually, the recommendations were conveyed in a new diabetes management note on the patient's EMR. Use of the vGMS was associated with a sustained 39 percent decrease in the daily number of inpatients with hyperglycemia and a simultaneous decrease in the number of patients with hypoglycemia. The researchers also saw an increase in the proportion of inpatients with at-goal glucose levels.

According to the authors, an inpatient vGMS is a potentially scalable model that harnesses automated glucose screening and expedited clinical review to enhance the management of patients with diabetes.