Alere Medical, Inc., a leading health management company, announced today that Health Net of Arizona Inc. will extend Alere’s diabetes program to all of its Medicare Advantage members with high risk diabetes. The expansion follows a one-year pilot program in which the Alere diabetes program reduced hospitalizations by 28%, among other successful outcomes.
Health Net of Arizona originally chose Alere to implement the pilot program with 300 of its Medicare Advantage health plan members with diabetes. Diabetic health care costs are five times higher than those of non-diabetics, on average. When diabetics have other co-morbidities, like coronary heart disease, disease management is even more critical.
Dr. Gordon Doneskey, a physician who runs a family practice, said, “Alere’s Diabetes DM program has helped my patient better understand the relationship of diet and blood sugar. Since participating in the program, his blood sugars have responded favorably and his A1C is improving, confirming better diabetic control. I have found Alere’s physician reporting useful for helping me manage this patient, and his diabetes is definitely improved since he began participating in the program.”
“Once again we have demonstrated that our unique approach of using biometric monitoring combined with multiple other data sources leads to personalized interventions that result in health improvement for patients with chronic diseases,” said Tim Moore, MD, Alere’s Chief Medical Officer. “We are pleased that other members of Health Net of Arizona will now have the opportunity to participate in this program as well.”
Alere’s diabetes program connects patients with a health care team via biometric and telephonic monitoring and physician reporting. Alere’s clinical services include diabetes interventions, medication adherence and education that empowers patients to improve their health and ultimately reduce the progression of disease complications. In addition to diabetes, the program also focused on improving the health of people with coronary artery disease (CAD), a known concurrent risk for people with diabetes. By creating specialized programs addressing diseases that often occur concurrently with one another, Alere provides members with comprehensive care services that meet and often exceed health care goals.
Alere’s diabetes program was developed in partnership with Joslin Diabetes Center, the global leader in diabetes research, patient care and education. Joslin is an innovator in the use of self-management education to improve measures of care and reduce the acute and chronic complications of diabetes. Joslin has treated more than a quarter of a million patients since 1898, resulting in average glucose levels substantially below the national average.
About Alere Medical Inc.
Alere Medical Incorporated is a leader in specialized health management services focusing on a patient-centric, programmatic approach to comprehensive personal health support. Alere’s integrated care monitoring system identifies and monitors all medium- and high-risk patients, and prioritizes those patients to facilitate efficient workflow. With published outcomes that exceed those of any competitor, Alere Medical’s health management programs improve clinical outcomes for patients, and maximize savings for clients.
Alere Medical has received NCQA Patient Oriented Full Accreditation for its heart failure disease management program, as well as for its coronary artery disease (CAD) program. The company has also received Patient and Physician Oriented Full Accreditation for its asthma and COPD Programs powered by National Jewish Research Center (2004-2007). For more information, visit www.alere.com or call (775) 829-8885.
Comments