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"ECHO developed the Alabama Type 2 Diabetes Report to serve as a usefulresource for employers in their efforts to provide work-site wellness and caremanagement programs to help employees manage chronic conditions like diabetesmore effectively," said Karen Hill, President/CEO of ECHO.
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Percentage of people diagnosed with Type II diabetes is much higher amongAlabama's working age adults
Working adults between the age of 18-64 in 2006 comprised more than 60.4percent of diagnosed diabetic patients in Alabama, compared to the nation,which had 54.2 percent of diabetic patients. This represents a higher level ofdiabetes in the state by 6.2 percent.
In addition, Alabama has a higher level of female patients than thenational average with 62.5 percent versus 54.9 percent for the femalepopulation of the rest of the nation.
Birmingham, Florence & Mobile lead the state in complications, outpacingthe state and the nation, while Huntsville has lower complication rates.Patients with multiple comorbidities (patients at higher risk are more costly)far exceed the national average, with Mobile the highest.
Quality of care shows positives
Alabama diabetes patients exceed the national average for eyeexaminations.
The quality of care indicators for patients with Type 2 diabetes, a majorconcern, pointed to positive signs for employers who want to ensure that theiremployees receive appropriate care. In addition to demographic and costinformation, the Alabama Type 2 Diabetes Report shows the percentage of peoplewith diabetes receiving recommended services, such as for glucose, HemoglobinA1C and cholesterol blood tests, as well as eye exams and urine tests forglucose. The percentages for these care indicators are higher in some areasfor the state and lower in other areas compared to the national averages. Forexample, people with Type 2 diabetes in Alabama who received a Hemoglobin A1Ctest (a key marker for managing diabetes) in 2006 was 75.1 percent compared tothe national average of 73.9 percent. Of people with diabetes, 85.1 percentreceived the blood glucose test in Alabama compared to the national average of86.5 percent.
ECHO believes that the Alabama Type 2 Diabetes Report for 2007 will helpproviders and employers continue to support efforts to manage the increasingprevalence, costs and quality of care provided to people with Type 2 diabetes."ECHO is committed to improving the health and wellness of our memberemployees. This report provides benchmark information that enhances ourability to analyze our experience. It can also be used for developing andsupporting multi-stakeholder efforts to support people with diabetes acrossthe state," said Karen Hill, President/CEO, ECHO.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 17 millionAmericans have diabetes, with an average of 1 million new cases beingdiagnosed each year in people over the age of 20. Nine out of ten of thesepatients have the Type 2 variety. The cost of diabetes in the US wasapproximately $132 billion in 2002, with $92 billion spent on medicalservices. The economic loss to the US economy due to higher rates of lost worktime, disability and premature mortality associated with diabetes in theworking population wa
