NASHVILLE, Tenn., August 3, 1998 -- First-year outcomes data for participants in Diabetes Treatment Centers of America's (DTCA) comprehensive population management program, Diabetes NetCareSM, show a 12.3 percent or $50 per member per month reduction in direct health care costs, according to a study published today in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. For health plans, this translates into an average savings of $600,000 per 1,000 members with diabetes in the first year of operation. This is the first set of multisite, population management outcomes integrating both health status and financial data for people with diabetes to be released.
DTCA's results were confirmed by a data analysis conducted by The Lewin Group, an internationally recognized health care policy, research and management-consulting firm. Lewin analyzed and compared baseline and follow-up clinical and financial data from seven commercial health plans comprising 360,000 covered lives and 7,000 diabetic lives to determine the short-term impact of implementing a population management program for people with diabetes.
"The outcomes data substantiate that an effectively implemented comprehensive health care management program for people with diabetes can improve health status and, consequently, decrease medical costs," said Robert Stone, executive vice president of DTCA. "This analysis validates our belief that these improvements can be achieved in the first year of program operation."
In addition to improved financial outcomes for participating health
plans, program participants also experienced significant clinical improvements.
The percentage of members with diabetes receiving an eye exam rose 74 percent,
from 23 percent in the baseline to 40 percent in follow-up. Plan members with
diabetes receiv
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Contact: Ellen Rostand
rostande@fleishman.com
314-982-9133
Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.
3-Aug-1998