Evidence mapPaperPMID 40050767Full record

SynthesisBMC health services research2025

Effect of virtual care in type 2 diabetes management - a systematic umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analysis.

Sumathy Ravi, Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, Cassia Yung, Julie Ayre, Kirsten McCaffery, Glen Maberly, Carissa Bonner

Abstract readSystematic ReviewMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC health services research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Sumathy RaviWestern Sydney Diabetes, Integrated and Community Health, Western Sydney Local Health District, Blacktown Road, Blacktown, NSW, 2148, Australia. Sumathy.Ravi@health.nsw.gov.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1097-0671
Gideon Meyerowitz-KatzWestern Sydney Diabetes, Integrated and Community Health, Western Sydney Local Health District, Blacktown Road, Blacktown, NSW, 2148, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1156-9345
Cassia YungSydney Health Literacy Lab, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-7311-6338
Julie AyreSydney Health Literacy Lab, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5279-5189
Kirsten McCafferySydney Health Literacy Lab, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2696-5006
Glen MaberlyWestern Sydney Diabetes, Integrated and Community Health, Western Sydney Local Health District, Blacktown Road, Blacktown, NSW, 2148, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1725-7094
Carissa BonnerSydney Health Literacy Lab, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4797-6460

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDiabetes is an increasingly prevalent and costly chronic disease worldwide, and a large cause of unnecessary disease burden. To address the growing burden of diabetes, care models should support management of diabetes in primary care to reduce reliance on overstretched hospital-based specialists services. Virtual care presents an opportunity to provide diabetes care remotely, potentially enhancing the accessibility and efficiency of healthcare services. This review aimed to identify existing evidence on the effectiveness of virtual care on diabetes management, and the extent to which video components are included in the evidence base.

methodsThe protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022366125). Systematic search of the databases PubMed, Embase, Medline, Scopus, CINAHL and Cochrane CENTRAL, were conducted for studies on telemedicine, telehealth, or virtual interventions for type 2 diabetes management published between January 2011 to March 2022. The primary outcome was HbA1c, and secondary outcomes were blood glucose control, Body Mass Index (BMI), taking the prescribed medications, and self-management behaviour. The results were reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) checklist. Quality of each review was appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Research Syntheses.

resultsFrom 10,708 articles, 63 underwent full-text review. Thirty systematic reviews were included. Overall quality of the included reviews was high. Among the 30 systematic reviews, there was significant overlap of the primary studies, with 48% of them appearing in multiple reviews. Of the 30 reviews, 28 reported that virtual care improved HbA1c compared to usual care. Meta-analysis of 16 reviews revealed a mean difference of -0.37% (-0.41% to -0.32%), I

conclusionsThis umbrella review strengthens the evidence that virtual care significantly improves clinical outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes, primarily affecting HbA1c. Fewer studies addressed other health outcomes such as BMI and taking medications. Effectiveness of virtual care varies by demographic and clinical characteristics, emphasising the need to tailor virtual care interventions to maximise impact. Future research could directly compare and identify the most effective virtual care strategies for different populations, including those with lower digital literacy.

Indexed as

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2TelemedicineGlycated HemoglobinHumansSystematic Reviews as TopicGlycated HemoglobinTelehealthTelemedicineType 2 diabetesUmbrella reviewVideoconferencingVirtual care

Identifiers

PMID40050767
PMCPMC11884068

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.