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Quality of Diabetes Care in 14 Local Coalition Communities Improved

Diabetes is growing cost and quality concern for employers

WASHINGTON – October 5, 2009 – The non-profit National Business Coalition on Health released its report on the results of 14 projects funded through the NBCH Diabetes Seed Grant Program started in 2007. The program was developed to assist NBCH member coalitions throughout the U.S. in implementing and evaluating models for improving diabetes care at a community-level.

“A major driver of health care costs, reduced quality of life and lost productivity – diabetes is an important target for employer-based efforts, “ said Andrew Webber, president and CEO of NBCH. “We’re pleased to be able to further the work of our coalitions for this growing cost and quality concern.”

The coalitions involved in the NBCH Diabetes Seed Grant program vigorously pursued activities to promote quality of care for diabetes at the community level. The projects ranged from development of a consumer-friendly diabetes resource and education website, to participation in formalized programs to recruit and reward physicians for high quality diabetes care.

The coalitions receiving the approximately $350,000 in seed grants were:

Colorado Business Group on Health – to expand the Bridges to Excellence initiative
Employers’ Health Coalition in Fort Smith, Arkansas – for physician recruitment for the Bridges to Excellence Diabetes Care Link Program
FrontPath Health Coalition in Perrysburg, Ohio – to implement a Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Program similar to HealthMapRx
The Health Action Council in Cleveland, Ohio – to develop a consumer health information website, www.BetterClevelandHealth.org
HealthCare 21 Business Coalition in Knoxville, Tennessee – to implement a Chronic Care Network
Maine Health Management Coalition – to develop a Bridges to Excellence transition initiative to further this program in Maine
MidAtlantic Business Group on Health in Maryland – to assist physicians in incorporating the Bridges to Excellence Diabetes Care Link Program into their practices
Midwest Business Group on Health in Chicago – to expand MBGH’s Taking Control of Your Health program
Nevada Health Care Coalition – to implement a worksite wellness program
South Carolina Business Coalition on Health – to implement THRIVE, a HealthMapRx program
St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition – to implement the Diabetes@Work program
Tri-State Health Care Coalition based in Quincy, Illinois – for Controlling Your Health For Life, modeled after HealthMapRx
Virginia Business Coalition on Health – to implement HealthMapRx
Western North Carolina Health Coalition – to expand the Asheville model for improved medication compliance to small employers

The impact of coalition diabetes programs on patient-level clinical and patient experience outcomes was reported by seven of 14 coalitions. All coalitions implementing worksite wellness programs and five of six coalitions with HealthMapRx programs were able to report patient-level data. Four of 6 of HealthMapRx or HealthMapRx-like coalitions received data reports. Of these, all found that average participant A1c levels decreased from baseline to the last visit. Likewise, all coalitions demonstrated increases in the percentage of diabetes patients receiving a foot exam and three out of four coalitions experienced an increase in eye exams.

The NBCH Diabetes Seed Grant Program was created in 2007 to promote innovative diabetes quality improvement and prevention programs driven by employer health coalitions at the community level. Coalitions went through a competitive application process for small grants to implement new or ongoing diabetes quality improvement projects. Projects could be either based on a national model for diabetes improvement, or designed by the coalition itself. Funding was made available for this program through the support of Novo Nordisk as the founding sponsor, along with sanofi-aventis, Merck, and Pfizer.

The report, prepared by Liza Greenberg, RN, MPH, and Richard W. Toner, MS, is publicly available and can be accessed here.

About the National Business Coalition on Health

NBCH is a national, non-profit, membership organization of nearly 60 employer-based health care coalitions, representing over 7,000 employers and approximately 25 million employees and their dependents across the United States. NBCH and its members are dedicated to value based purchasing of health care services through the collective action of public and private purchasers. NBCH will host its annual employer conference November 8-10, 2009 in Scottsdale, AZ. For additional information visit: http://www.nbch.org/.