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Diabetes Projects
Business and Diabetes
CDC works with businesses and managed care organizations to address
diabetes control in the workplace.
Diabetes is costly in human terms for almost 16 million
Americans with the disease. Diabetes is also costly in economic terms:
$98 billion a year in direct medical and indirect costs in the United
States.1 The prevalence of diabetes increased markedly in the
United States from 1990 to 1998,
including a 76 percent rise among people aged 30 and older. Experts report
that diabetes will continue to increase in this country. 2
During November, diabetes awareness month, health professionals at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and their business and
managed care partners are letting people know how CDC works with businesses
to address workplace issues related to diabetes control.
"We're trying to give businesses the perspective of what scientific research
and data are available and how they can guide employers to improve the
work environment for people with diabetes. Knowledge is available to help
people with diabetes, but it is not being widely applied. A few simple
and inexpensive changes can help avoid severe diabetes complications,
such as blindness, amputations, and kidney disease, which are much more
costly to treat than to prevent." said Frank Vinicor, MD, director, Division
of Diabetes Translation, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion, CDC.
For 2 years, CDC has worked with the National Business Coalition on Health
(www.nbch.org*), the Washington Business
Group on Health (www.wbgh.org*), the
Employers Managed Health Care Association,
and others. As a result of this partnership, CDC and the business community
are exploring ways of improving the health of workers with diabetes, promoting
health messages, and managing the disease in the workplace. For more information,
visit CDC's Diabetes Public Health Resource Web site (www.cdc.gov/diabetes)
or call toll free 1-800-CDC-INFO 1-888-232-6348 TTY .
Costs to business
The following facts outline the impact of diabetes in the workplace and
the nation in 1997:
- On average, people with diabetes aged 18 to 64 years lost 8.3 days
per year from work compared to 1.7 days per year for people without
diabetes. 3
- Medical expenditures incurred by people with diabetes were $10,071
per capita, compared with $2,669 per capita for people without diabetes.
3
![Total Cost of Diabetes in the United States: $98 Billion. A text version of this information is below.](images/business.gif)
Total Cost of Diabetes
in the United States: $98 Billion
Indirect costs: premature mortality = $17 billion
Direct cost: medical and non-medical = $44 billion
Indirect costs: disability = $37 billion
Employer tips
A recent study concluded that short-term improvements in glucose control
(a key preventive measure for diabetes) can enhance the quality of life
for employees with diabetes, reduce costs from hospitalizations and absenteeism,
and improve health and productivity.4
According to the National Diabetes Education Program's
(NDEP) Making a Difference: the Business Community Takes on
Diabetes 5, employers should follow these guidelines:
- Develop a supportive work environment so that employees with diabetes
feel comfortable adopting and performing the behaviors that promote
good diabetes control.
- Provide encouragement and opportunities for all employees to adopt
healthier lifestyles that reduce risks for chronic diseases.
- Coordinate all corporate diabetes control efforts within the organization
to make them more efficient as well as accountable. (The NDEP publication
shows successful examples.)
- Demand the highest quality medical care for people who are dealing
with diabetes.
NDEP is a joint program sponsored by
CDC and the National Institutes of Health.
NDEP involves public and private partners to improve the treatment and
outcomes for people with diabetes, to promote early diagnosis, and ultimately,
to prevent diabetes. Through the use of assessment tools and work-site
kits, NDEP's Business and Managed Care Work Group helps increase awareness
among employers, benefits managers, and managed care decisionmakers about
the clinical and economic benefits of quality diabetes care and promotes
the value of investing in prevention.
For more NDEP information, call toll free, 1-800-438-5383, or visit the
Internet at http://www.ndep.nih.gov or www.cdc.gov/diabetes/ndep/index.htm.
Helpful tools
The American Diabetes Association's (ADA) Clinical Practice Recommendations
establish the clinical guidelines for health providers to follow; for
example, the frequency and type of key diabetes tests and exams. For more
ADA information, call toll free 1-800-DIABETES, or visit the Web site
at http://www.diabetes.org*.
The Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) is a set of
standardized performance measures designed to ensure that health care
purchasers and consumers have the information they need to reliably compare
the performance of managed care plans. Currently, four HEDIS measures
are directly related to diabetes care. HEDIS is sponsored and maintained
by the not-for-profit National Committee for Quality Assurance. On the
Internet, visit www.ncqa.org* then select
"programs" and "HEDIS."
Through George Washington University, CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation
is currently developing model contract specifications that are geared
toward purchasers of health care.
Successful strategies for managing and controlling diabetes may include,
but are not limited to, community support, individual counseling and education,
group education and support classes, regular blood sugar testing and screening
for complications, and routine follow-up. Any company-developed intervention,
no matter how large or how small, can be an investment in your entire
workforce and the community as a whole.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National diabetes fact
sheet: national estimates and general information on diabetes in the
United States. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,
1998. On the Internet, visit http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/factsheet.htm.
- Mokdad AH, Ford ES, Bowman BA, Nelson DE, Engelgau MM, Vinicor F,
Marks J. Diabetes
trends in the U.S.: 1990-1998. Diabetes Care 2000 Sept;23(9):1278-1283.
- American Diabetes Association. Economic
consequences of diabetes mellitus in the United States in 1997.
Diabetes Care 1998 Feb;21:296-309.
- Testa MA, Simonson DC. Health
economic benefits and quality of life during improved glycemic control
in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. JAMA 1998 Nov 4;280(17):1490.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Making
a Difference: the Business Community Takes on Diabetes. Atlanta,
Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health
Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center
for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 1999. NDEP Pub
#33.
* Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service
to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization
by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC
is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web
pages found at this link.
Historical
Page last modified: December 12, 2005
Content Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Diabetes Translation
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