PCDC: Patient-Centered Diabetes Care

While payer coverage for obesity care has improved since the American Medical Association declared that obesity is a disease, there's still a long way to go. Physician training must improve to eliminate stigma that keeps patients from getting care they need, according to experts who appeared at Patient-Centered Diabetes Care.

CMS' plan to pay for the National Diabetes Prevention Program is an important step toward payer coverage of technology-based diabetes care. But reimbursement for telehealth to treat type 2 diabetes remains challenging.

Diabetes care is incredibly complex and people are still trying to use data to predict issues with glycemic control, determine what the best combinations of drugs are, and to improve adherence with patients, explained Lonny Reisman, MD, CEO of HealthReveal and keynote speaker at Patient-Centered Diabetes Care.

It takes a village to manage people with diabetes, and that includes involving other professionals like diabetes educators, dieticians, and pharmacists more effectively, said Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, FACP, chief medical officer of the Joslin Diabetes Center, chair of Patient-Centered Diabetes Care, and editor-in-chief of Evidence-Based Diabetes Management.

There may be some reluctance to reimburse telemedicine because there is a feeling that telemedicine costs might be added to overall cost, rather than be substituted, David Brumley, MD, MBA, senior medical director at Tufts Health Plan, explained at the 4th Annual Patient-Centered Diabetes Care Meeting, held April 7-8 in Teaneck, NJ.

Growth in retail health clinics reveals unmet medical needs for Americans who lack insurance, who cannot leave work, or who have disconnected with the health system. This growing sector of the health system is diagnosing and treating diabetes cases that would otherwise be missed.

Lonny Reisman, MD, CEO of HealthReveal, told attendees at Patient-Centered Diabetes Care that harnessing multiple disparate data sources can help physicians deliver better solutions at the point of care.

With not enough endocrinologists to go around, primary care physicians are important when it comes to caring for patients with diabetes, Albert Tzeel, MD, MHSA, FAAPL, regional medical director, senior products, Humana, said at the 4th Annual Patient-Centered Diabetes Care Meeting, held April 7-8, in Teaneck, NJ.