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A new step in preventative medicine |
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Written by Lev Prasov
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Apr 24, 2006 at 03:08 PM |
The University of Michigan has recently started a pilot program in an attempt to reduce potential complications of diabetes by eliminating or reducing copays on many antidiabetic drugs and improving diabetes education.
Preventing a disease is always easier than treating it. Smallpox, for example, was a very devastating disease with high rate of mortality, but it has been virtually eradicated by the introduction of the small pox vaccine. There are many chronic conditions, however, for which we have no cure. For these diseases, proper management can often prevent complications and the costly medical procedures required to deal with these problems. The University of Michigan has recently started a pilot program to try to deal with these issues for major disease, diabetes.
As discussed in the first DOTW, many of the major complications of diabetes can be prevented by keeping blood sugar levels in check. Insulin and other anti-diabetic drugs can be used to accomplish this. The major problem is that patients often do not takes these drugs. One of the reasons is cost. In order to relieve this barrier, the university health system has adopted a program to reduce or eliminate copays for many of the major anti-diabetic drugs. In addition to the reduced copays, patients will receive free annual eye exams to help with early detection of retinopathy, as well as educational material about controlling diabetes. The hope is that the money spent on these preventative measures will reduce the burden of diabetes-related complications for both patients and the health system.
For more information on the program:
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