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Recent News:
CONTACT:
Jerry Franz, ADA, (703) 299-2094
Susan Pisano, AAHP (202) 778-3245
Suzanne Miller, ADA-NM, (505) 266-5716
EMBARGOED 11/20 1PM MST
November 20, 2000
Health Care Community Launches First Statewide Initiative of its Kind Using Proven, Most Up-To-Date Guideline for Care; Secretary of Health Valdez Throws Full Support Behind Effort to Give Patients Best Possible Care
(Albuquerque, New Mexico) In the first statewide effort of its kind, New Mexico’s entire health care community has come together to take on diabetes with a uniform, tested and proven guideline for care. New Mexico’s program, New Mexico Health Care Takes on Diabetes, combines the unique strengths of health plans, physicians, and other medical groups in an effort to dramatically reduce the negative health consequences associated with the disease. It is part of the national Taking on Diabetes initiative, a joint initiative of the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
"The good news in taking care of people with diabetes is that we know quite a lot about how to treat it," said Secretary of Health Alex Valdez. "Our challenge is to make sure this knowledge is applied consistently for patients and throughout communities, and I’m proud to say we’re launching a program here in New Mexico to do that for the large number of our citizens that have this disease."
Unfortunately, diabetes is a growing problem in New Mexico. The key to making inroads to effectively treat this disease is to minimize its negative outcomes—vision loss, end-stage renal disease, amputations, heart disease and stroke.
Using the guideline as a blueprint for action, the groundbreaking New Mexico effort sets a standard for care that meets the most essential needs of patients. Across New Mexico, health care providers will be implementing procedures for care proven to minimize the sometimes life-threatening effects of diabetes.
The guideline was developed by New Mexico Healthcare Takes On Diabetes, a broad collaborative of New Mexico’s diabetes care professionals, New Mexico health plans, the New Mexico Department of Health, and the New Mexico Medical Review Association, with technical and administrative support from AAHP and the ADA.
"This program amounts to a full court press to fight this devastating disease," said Marian Parrott, MD, MPH, vice president for clinical affairs at the ADA. "Using the best available information and tools, doctors and other health care professionals here in New Mexico can make a real difference in the lives of people with diabetes."
"Diabetes is an epidemic for the people of New Mexico," said Al Rizzoli, MD, a member of the New Mexico Medical Society. "To win the fight against this disease, it’s critically important that wherever and whenever a patient is treated, it be done in a way that consistently uses the most effective approaches."
New Mexico Health Care Takes on Diabetes will result in thousands of doctors, nurses and other health professionals applying the guideline to produce measurable gains against the disease.
"America needs a new, national offensive to fight the diabetes epidemic," said AAHP President Karen Ignagni. "Our members are proud to join the American Diabetes Association to work side-by-side on this mission, here in New Mexico and nationally."
Taking on Diabetes
also includes two other groundbreaking models in Westchester County, New York and Kansas City, Missouri. In Westchester County, the initiative is providing physicians with diabetes toolkits to better serve their communities, while implementing a program to track their use. In Kansas City, four health plans, along with provider groups and hospitals, are focused on improvements in physician office practice systems that promote better outreach and monitoring.The health plans in New Mexico that have given their support and guidance to the initiative include: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico and HMO New Mexico, Cimarron Health Plan,
LifeCourse Health Plans, Lovelace Health Systems, and Presbyterian Health Plan.
Taking on Diabetes also involves partnerships with the employer community, most notably the Employers’ Managed Health Care Association.
Funding for Taking on Diabetes is being provided by Pharmacia & Upjohn, Schering Diabetes, and SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals through unrestricted educational grants. In addition, the Commonwealth Fund provides funding to support the community partnerships in Taking on Diabetes.
The Taking on Diabetes web site can be accessed through
www.aahp.org or directly at www.takingondiabetes.org.Diabetes affects 16 million Americans, with nearly 800,000 additional cases diagnosed each year. Each year, adult-onset diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, end-stage kidney failures, and lower-limb amputations, and is a major factor in heart disease and stroke. Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death by disease. Experts estimate that diabetes costs the nation $98 billion annually.
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The American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) represents more than 1,000 health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs) and other similar health plans that provide health care coverage for more than 140 million Americans.
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