APhA Foundation Announces Interim Results from National Chronic Disease
Management Initiative
WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Interim results show
that participants in the Diabetes Ten City Challenge (DTCC) improved across
all key clinical and patient satisfaction indicators in the early stages of
the program, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation
announced today.
Initial data show a positive trend in controlling diabetes, the chronic
disease that affects 21 million Americans and costs the U.S. more than $174
billion annually. The final DTCC report, due out in 2009, will include
cost-savings data for DTCC employers.
The Diabetes Ten City Challenge (DTCC) is an employer-based diabetes
self-management program conducted by APhA Foundation with support from
GlaxoSmithKline. Since it was launched in October 2005, 31 employers in ten
cities have joined forces with hundreds of pharmacists to help more than
1,000 people manage their diabetes.
Through the DTCC, employers establish a voluntary health benefit for
employees, dependents and retirees with diabetes, and waive co-payments for
diabetes medications and supplies if they work with a pharmacist "coach" to
manage their condition in collaboration with their doctors and diabetes
educators. The DTCC is modeled after other highly successful APhA programs
that have proven to improve overall health, reduce absenteeism, shorten
hospital stays and reduce health care costs.
"The results to date prove that this collaborative-practice model is
effective for managing diabetes and replicable in diverse locations and
employers," said William M. Ellis, CEO of the APhA Foundation and co-author
of a peer-reviewed article on the results published in the March/April
issue of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA). "In
years of experience with this model we have seen that when you have
positive clinical outcomes and increased patient satisfaction in the early
stages, the economic benefits follow."
Key Findings
The report released today analyzed aggregate data on 914 DTCC
participants who were in the program at least three months as of September
30, 2007. It documented clinical improvements in all the recognized
standards for diabetes care, including:
-- Decreases in laboratory measures (mean) for hemoglobin A1c (a
laboratory test showing the patient's average blood sugar control over
the previous two to three months), LDL cholesterol and blood pressure
over the initial year of the program
-- Increases in the number of participants with current influenza
vaccinations, foot examinations and eye examinations
-- 21% increase in the number of participants achieving the American
Diabetes Association goal of A1c level <7.0
-- Increase from 43.8% to 57.7% in participants achieving nationally
recognized National Cholesterol Education Program goals for LDL
cholesterol
-- 15.7% increase in the number of people achieving recognized goals for
systolic blood pressure
Other Key Data
-- The number of DTCC participants who felt their overall diabetes care
was "very good to excellent" increased from 39% to 87%
-- More than 97% of participants reported being "very satisfied" or
"satisfied" with diabetes care provided by DTCC pharmacists
-- The number of participants with self-management goals to control their
diabetes also increased significantly over the course of the program:
the number of people with nutrition goals increased from 22% to 66%;
the number of people with weight goals increased from 23% to 64%; and
the number of participants with exercise goals increased from 24% to
72%
"The data show significant improvement in all clinical and diabetes
care indicators measured," said Toni Fera, PharmD, principal author of an
article on the results appearing in the March/April issue of the Journal of
the American Pharmacists Association. "These results are consistent with
data from past projects where similar clinical improvements translated to
annual savings to employers in total direct medical costs for
participants."
"Chronic diseases like diabetes are threatening the stability of our
healthcare system," said GlaxoSmithKline President of U.S. Pharmaceuticals,
Chris Viehbacher. "By focusing on patients and helping them to better
understand and self-manage their condition, we can improve their health and
lower costs. GSK is proud to support the Diabetes Ten City Challenge
because it is a model that works and can be replicated."
How the DTCC Model Works
The APhA Foundation contracts with employers, helps establish local
pharmacist networks and provides software and data analysis for the DTCC.
Employers offer the voluntary employee benefit and compensate pharmacists
for the care provided. Participating pharmacists, who are specially trained
in diabetes care, educate participants on diabetes, diet and nutrition.
These "pharmacist coaches" meet with participants regularly to help them
track key diabetes indicators and manage their diabetes by eating right,
exercising regularly, visiting their doctors and taking medications as
prescribed.
Physicians are informed of participants' enrollment and are encouraged
to share individual patient care plans with the pharmacist, who reinforces
those plans in personal meetings. Pharmacists communicate with physicians
after every visit and refer patients to other health care providers as
needed for additional care or education.
Expanding the DTCC Model for all Chronic Diseases
An additional 50 employers and 1,300 employees are using the DTCC model
through the APhA Foundation's HealthMapRx(TM) to manage many chronic
diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
"The Diabetes Ten City Challenge provides an opportunity to transform
health care delivery in local communities and drive fundamental change in
the U.S. health care system," Ellis said. "Our overall goal is to make this
model as widely available as possible and encourage employers to invest in
helping their employees manage all chronic conditions. Our nation's health
care system is broken -- we need more programs that are an investment in
wellness rather than an expense for sickness."
About the APhA Foundation (http://www.aphafoundation.org)
The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation, headquartered
in Washington, D.C., is a non-profit organization affiliated with the
American Pharmacists Association, the national professional society of
pharmacists in the United States.
The APhA Foundation has expertise in designing programs that seek to
create a new medication use system in the U.S. where patients, pharmacists,
physicians and other health care providers collaborate to dramatically
improve the cost and quality of consumer health outcomes through the safe
and effective use of medications.
SOURCE American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation
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Related links:
http://www.aphafoundation.org
http://www.diabetestencitychallenge.com
CONTACT:
Caren Kagan Evans of ECI Communications for
American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation,
+1-301-309-8487, caren.kaganevans@ecicommunications.com
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