Taking On Diabetes - Purchaser Relations Workgroup

Taking on Diabetes relies on the expertise available in health plans. To gather this expertise, the Initiative has developed workgroups in four areas: collecting and disseminating best practices, building community partnerships, developing work site educational materials, and evaluating the success of the initiative. Each workgroup is composed of representatives from health plans, the American Diabetes Association (ADA), and initiative sponsors. Workgroups are responsible for reviewing Taking on Diabetes materials and providing input to the initiative’s advisory committee on the direction of the initiative.

Mission
The Employer Issues/Worksite Education Workgroup works to determine methods for enhancing health plan/employer relationships. The Workgroup also works collaboratively with the Employers Managed Health Care Association (MHCA) to create, disseminate, and evaluate materials and interventions designed for implementation in the work setting.

Duties
Working collaboratively with AAHP/ADA and the Employers Managed Health Care Association (MHCA), the Purchaser Relations Workgroup creates, disseminates, and evaluates materials and interventions designed for implementation in the work setting.

Membership
Membership in the workgroup includes staff, sponsors, employer representatives, ADA members and health plan representatives.

Six Month Goals – Timeline
May/June 1999: Initial Workgroup conference call.

July 1999: Establish a framework for the Taking on Diabetes primer on developing worksite education programs.

This document will build on the compendium of medical management, worksite education, and community partnership programs which was developed for the first annual diabetes conference which is being co-sponsored by Taking on Diabetes and the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). The primer will serve as a practical tool to assist health plans in the development of partnerships with health care purchasers and employers that promote improvements in diabetes health care delivery (e.g., screening, supporting patient self-management).

August 5, 1999: Workgroup meeting to be held in conjunction with the annual diabetes conference in Washington, DC.

September 1999: Finalize the primer and prepare it for publication in October.

Discuss dissemination mechanisms and possible spin-off products based on the information contained therein.

Taking on Diabetes
601 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
South Building, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 778-3281
takingondiabetes@ahip.org