Diabetes Clinical Summary

How the Program Works | Facts You Need to Know | Compliance Management | Diabetes Outcomes

How the Program Works

Matria's Diabetes Management Program helps employees adhere to treatment plans that may include medications, a healthy diet, exercise to control weight and both at-home and outpatient testing for blood glucose, cholesterol and fatty acids.

Our clinicians proactively contact employees to make sure they are adhering to their care plans and monitor their progress according to their doctor’s plan of care and the national clinical standards. Through telephonic interactions, our nurses also help employees:

• Become educated about their disease and the health risks associated with noncompliance
• Correct poor lifestyle behaviors, such as overeating, poor diet and lack of exercise, which could lead to the disease or exacerbate existing conditions
• Improve self-care skills involving medication usage and self-monitored blood sugar testing at home
• Make sure patients are in compliance with essential recommendations by their doctor and the American Diabetes Association

Facts You Need to Know

Dramatic evidence continues to reveal an escalating diabetes epidemic that could lead to a national crisis within 20 years. A leading cause appears to be obesity. Currently, 65 percent of the nation is either overweight or obese. Statistics predict that one-third of all children born in 2003 will develop diabetes. With 700,000 new cases diagnosed each year, the number of adults with diabetes is expected to double by 2050 to roughly 34 million.

While the average annual healthcare costs for a person without diabetes is $2,500, the cost for a diabetic is $13,243. One of the most common and expensive chronic conditions, diabetes is costing the nation roughly $132 billion annually.

Compliance Management

Our program is designed to help patients comply with their doctor’s plan of care, which involves several key clinical performance indicators based on national standards. While working with patients, we track their adherence to these standards and report back measurable results to show program impact on patient compliance. For patients with diabetes, we monitor the following:

• Frequency of at-home blood glucose testing
• Hemoglobin A1C testing a minimum of every six months
• Testing of blood fat content at least annually
• Cholesterol
• Lipids (HDL/LDL)
• Triglycerides
• Blood pressure monitoring
• Urine testing to monitor for early indication of kidney damage
• Eye and foot exams
• Annual flu shots
• Pneumonia vaccinations

Diabetes Outcomes

Matria's Diabetes Management Program produced the following results for a range of clients:

Cost Savings:

• Reduced emergency room visits by 22 percent and per member per month (PMPM) costs by 14 percent
• Reduced hospitalizations by 28 percent and PMPM costs by 27 percent
• Reduced hospital days by 16 percent
• Reduced pharmaceutical PMPM costs by 9.75 percent
• Reduced total PMPM costs by 9 percent

Clinical Performance Indicators:

• Increased at-home blood glucose testing by 21 percent*
• Increased LDL screenings by 16 percent
• Increased urine testing by 48 percent
• Increased eye exams by 11 percent

*Only 2 percent failed to reach nationally acceptable levels of blood glucose testing.