Columbia University’s Informatics for Diabetes Education and Telemedicine (IDEATel) Project
Rationale and Design
- Steven Shea,
- Justin Starren,
- Ruth S Weinstock,
- Paul E Knudson,
- Jeanne Teresi,
- Douglas Holmes,
- Walter Palmas,
- Lesley Field,
- Robin Goland,
- Catherine Tuck†,
- George Hripcsak,
- Linnea Capps,
- David Liss
- Affiliations of the authors: Columbia University, New York, New York (SS, JS, JT, WP, LF, RG, CT, GH); State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York (RSW); Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Syracuse, New York (PEK); Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale, Bronx, New York (JT, DH); Harlem Hospital Center, New York, New York (LC); New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York (DL)
- Correspondence and reprints: Steven Shea, MD, Division of General Medicine, 622 W. 168th Street, New York, NY 10032; e-mail: <ss35{at}columbia.edu>
- Received 15 May 2001
- Accepted 9 October 2001
Abstract
The Columbia University Informatics for Diabetes Education and Telemedicine (IDEATel) Project is a four-year demonstration project funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with the overall goals of evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of telemedicine in the management of older patients with diabetes. The study is designed as a randomized controlled trial and is being conducted by a state-wide consortium in New York. Eligibility requires that participants have diabetes, are Medicare beneficiaries, and reside in federally designated medically underserved areas. A total of 1,500 participants will be randomized, half in New York City and half in other areas of the state. Intervention participants receive a home telemedicine unit that provides synchronous videoconferencing with a project-based nurse, electronic transmission of home fingerstick glucose and blood pressure data, and Web access to a project Web site. End points include glycosylated hemoglobin, blood pressure, and lipid levels; patient satisfaction; health care service utilization; and costs. The project is intended to provide data to help inform regulatory and reimbursement policies for electronically delivered health care services.
Footnotes
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↵† Deceased.
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This project was supported by cooperative agreement 95-C-90998 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS; formerly Health Care Financing Administration).
