Abstract
As a result of the spread of coronavirus disease and associated epidemiological measures, social interactions and face-to-face meetings have been considerably limited for more than a year. Despite the negative impacts of the epidemic, this situation has led to a significant increase in impersonal communication and new opportunities for the digital world in numerous aspects of human interactions, including health care.
Although electronic processes and communication have been also implemented in the health care system several years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential of the use of e-health has been only partially realized. It is assumed that the current situation could accelerate the transition to the approach of e-health, especially the outpatient health services.
This paper describes the use of health care before the coronavirus disease pandemic in the case of outpatient diabetology in Czechia. The anonymized data from the General Health Insurance Company were used.
We mainly focused on the amount and structure of contacts between patients and physicians and reported medical performance. It was found the total number of contacts was increasing in total and for most studied medical performances.
The most often reported medical performances were the targeted examination and the targeted education which represented almost half of medical performances. The amount of the blood glucose measurement by glucometer, the determination of glycated hemoglobin (HbA 1 c), and the chemical examination of urine substantially grown up.
On the other hand, the number of the control examination and the capillary blood testing declined. Furthermore, it was an attempt to present the theoretical possibilities of higher involvement of e-health.