Diabetes management assisted by telemedicine: patient perspectives.

This qualitative research focuses on understanding the experiences of elderly patients with diabetes who participated in a telemedicine case management intervention, to better understand the barriers to success of telemedicine with the elderly. Telephone interviews were conducted with elderly patients with diabetes prior to and 6 and 12 months after participating in a case management intervention delivered via a computer that allowed them to teleconference with a nurse and dietitian, upload blood glucose and blood pressure data, and access educational materials. Qualitative analyses revealed that patients enrolled primarily because healthcare providers encouraged them.