Table 1.
Breakdown of telemonitoring costs from various perspectives.
| Perspective | Category | Cost subcategory | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healthcare provider | Infrastructure costs | Equipment acquisition Equipment maintenance Equipment depreciation Telemedicine platform subscription | Costs for obtaining necessary devices Ongoing costs for device functionality and long service life Costs of spreading equipment cost over its service life Costs covering technology infrastructure, data security, and user support for telemonitoring and video calls |
| Healthcare provider | Operational costs | Patient training investment Cost of data review by coordinator Teleconsultation costs | Initial costs for patient training to ensure proper device usage Labour costs for the analysis of patient data Labour costs for conducting teleconsultations |
| Patient or society | Patient participation costs | Training time costs Measurements time costs Teleconsultation time costs | Costs associated with training in device usage Costs for BP and BG measurement time Costs for teleconsultation sessions Costs related to travel |
| Patient or society | Change in out-ofpocket costs | Transportation and parking Food and dietary supplement Exercise and fitness Education Rehabilitative services Out-of-pocket checkups Medical devices Customised footwear | Costs for dietary needs Costs for physical activity Costs for educational materials or programmes Costs for rehabilitation or physiotherapy Costs for non-covered or quicker checkups at private institutions Costs for monitors and BG strips Costs for specialised diabetes footwear |
Figure 1.
CONSORT flow diagram illustrating the randomisation process.
Table 2.
Baseline socio-demographic and clinical data.
| Variable | All patients (N=117) | Telemonitoring (N=55) | Standard care (N=62) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years, mean (SD) | 71.4±4.7 | 70.6±4.3 | 72.0±5.0 | 0.123 |
| Sex | ||||
| Male (N) | 71 | 34 | 37 | 0.813 |
| Female (N) | 46 | 21 | 25 | |
| Highest education achieved | ||||
| Primary school (N) | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0.518 |
| Vocational school (N) | 69 | 33 | 36 | |
| High school (N) | 16 | 10 | 6 | |
| Bachelor’s degree (N) | 10 | 3 | 7 | |
| Master’s degree (N) | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
| Region | ||||
| Urban (N) | 54 | 27 | 27 | 0.548 |
| Rural (N) | 63 | 28 | 35 | |
| Marital status | ||||
| Married (N) | 86 | 41 | 45 | 0.527 |
| Divorced (N) | 8 | 2 | 6 | |
| Widowed (N) | 5 | 2 | 3 | |
| Single (N) | 18 | 10 | 8 | |
| Clinical data | ||||
| Duration of type 2 diabetes, years, mean (SD) | 9.5±7.6 | 9.8±6.3 | 9.2±8.6 | 0.672 |
| Duration of hypertension, years, mean (SD) | 14.5±10.6 | 13.7±10.6 | 15.2±10.6 | 0.667 |
| Systolic blood pressure, mmHg, mean (SD) | 136.7±14.1 | 135.8±14.9 | 137.7±13.1 | 0.458 |
| Diastolic blood pressure, mmHg, mean (SD) | 76.5±8.2 | 75.6±7.0 | 77.2±9.0 | 0.280 |
| Glycated haemoglobin, %, mean (SD) | 7.2±1.0 | 7.2±1.2 | 7.1±0.8 | 0.411 |
Table 3.
Breakdown of operational costs per patient.
| Cost subcategory | Mean annual time per action (min, 95% CI) | Gross value per hour (EUR) | Mean annual gross costs per patient (EUR, 95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient training | 82 (75-89) | 10.3 | 14.1 (12.9-15.3) |
| Data review | 201 (178-225) | 20.9 | 70.0 (62.0-78.4) |
| Teleconsultations | 38 (31-44) | 20.9 | 13.2 (10.8-15.3) |
| Mean annual total gross costs (EUR, 95% CI) | / | / | 97.3 (85.7-109.0) |
Table 4.
Breakdown of participation costs per patient.
| Cost subcategory | Mean annual time per action (min, 95% Ci) | Gross value per hour (EUR) | Mean annual gross costs per patient (EUR, 95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient training | 82 (75-89) | 11.5 | 15.7 (14.4-17.1) |
| Data review | 1,005 (890-1,125) | 11.5 | 192.6 (170.6-215.6) |
| Teleconsultations | 38 (31-44) | 11.5 | 7.3 (5.9-8.4) |
| Mean annual total gross costs (EUR, 95% CI) | / | / | 215.6 (190.9-241.1) |
Table 5.
Comparison of out-of-pocket costs across groups.
| Cost subcategory | All patients (N=117), mean (min, max) | Telemonitoring(N=55), mean (min, max) | Standard care (N=62), mean (min, max) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transportation and parking (EUR) | 27 (0-1,200) | 9 (0-180) | 43 (0-1,200) | 0.149 |
| Food and dietary supplements (EUR) | 151 (0-2,400) | 83 (0-2,400) | 214 (0-2,400) | 0.015 |
| Exercise and fitness (EUR) | 38 (0-1,440) | 20 (0-480) | 56 (0-1,440) | 0.784 |
| Education (EUR) | 1 (0-60) | 0 (0-0) | 1 (0-60) | 0.334 |
| Rehabilitative services (EUR) | 20 (0-840) | 0 (0-0) | 39 (0-840) | 0.050 |
| Out-of-pocket checkups (EUR) | 23 (0-900) | 0 (0-0) | 45 (0-900) | 0.016 |
| Medical devices (EUR) | 56 (0-1,200) | 9 (0-72) | 101 (0-1,200) | <0.001 |
| Customised footwear (EUR) | 6 (0-180) | 2 (0-50) | 10 (0-180) | 0.198 |
| Miscellaneous (EUR) | 23 (0-1,200) | 9 (0-480) | 36 (0-1,200) | 0.972 |
| Mean annual total costs (EUR, 95% CI) | 345 (221-469) | 132 (32-231) | 545 (332-757) | <0.001 |