Tech Trends in Diabetes Testing

ACDC study projected that as many as one out of three U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue.¹

A statistic this severe carries several implications; one being that as the health care industry continues to evolve, the expectation for more technologically advanced products will become even greater. This presents an opportunity for HME/DME providers that carry high-tech 
diabetes merchandise to elevate their sales.

The diabetes product marketplace is changing to fit the needs of new and existing patients. For some, pricking a finger several times a day to check glucose levels is a dreaded and cumbersome task. The best diabetes testing meters are user-friendly and designed to provide patients with the kind of care that is going to help them successfully manage their diabetes while improving their quality of life. So with developments such as continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), diabetes patients can receive glucose readings every five minutes through a sensor that is inserted under the skin to check glucose levels in tissue fluid. CGMs are just one example of how testing supplies are becoming more technologically advanced. Talking meters and meters with larger, easier-to-read screens are also flooding the diabetes product marketplace.

While high-tech diabetes supplies are appealing and generally make for an easier and more user-friendly patient experience, there is one important measure on which diabetes patients will not compromise: accuracy.

Consistent, precise readings help improve the administration of disease treatment and the quality of care. And improved management of diabetes care translates to other aspects of a 
patient’s health.

Collaborative Care

Although diabetes can be effectively managed with medication, the long-term effects of the disease often lead to serious complications such as vision loss, kidney failure, leg or foot amputations and hypertension. Because of the ramifications of high blood pressure, diabetes is also a major cause of heart disease and stroke.

From inpatient care and prescribed medications to treat complications, to the cost of supplies, office visits and nursing facility stays, the average medical expenses of patients with diabetes are more than two times higher than those without the disease. In 2007, the estimated cost of diabetes in the U.S. was $174 billion. That amount included $116 billion in direct medical care costs and $58 billion in indirect costs.²

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act emphasizes advancements to the patient care experience and also a focus on lowering health care costs. To ensure these improvements take place, there are certain changes that need to be made to the existing payment model and health care delivery system.

Our current health care system—the most expensive in the world—still does not deliver the best care to patients. The fee-for-service method of payment for health care services creates incentives for providers to deliver more care, but not necessarily the best quality of care.³

To combat this dilemma, health care providers are collaborating to form organizations that hold providers accountable for the quality of care they provide. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are groups of doctors, hospitals and other providers who voluntarily work to give coordinated high-quality care to their 
Medicare patients.

When an ACO is successful in delivering high-quality care and spending health care dollars wisely, it will share in the savings it achieves for the Medicare program.⁴

Why are ACOs relevant to HME/DME providers that sell diabetes products? Because when health care providers are accountable for the cost and quality of the care they give their 
patients, they will want to ensure their diabetic patients are regulating their glucose levels in the most effective and economic way possible.

A great way for health care providers to do this is to work in an ACO with HME/DME providers that sell valuable, high-tech and high-quality diabetes products. Another way that high-tech diabetes products are making collaboration more efficient and improving patient care is with the implementation of diabetes management software.

Diabetes management software works to improve communication between health care providers and patients. The software allows providers to more easily give treatment recommendations and medication. To accommodate this high-tech development, many diabetes product suppliers have added services like the presence of software specialists in their call centers who are available to better assist patients with questions.

The Cost of High-Tech Diabetes Products

Now that the reduced Medicare reimbursement rates for diabetes testing supplies have gone into effect, it’s even more essential for providers to find ways to save.

Fortunately, high-tech, high-quality value brands are available in the diabetes supply market, and many providers are finding that a highly accurate product does not necessarily mean a high price.

Competitive Advantage

We don’t know everything that Health Care Reform will affect when it’s fully implemented. 
Regardless of what it brings and those implications, we do know that health care is changing. We can either prepare as best we can to change in ways that will help us maintain a competitive advantage, or wait to change when everything goes into effect. The problem with waiting is that it is difficult to maintain a competitive edge if you’re playing catch-up.

1. Projection of the year 2050 burden of diabetes in the U.S. adult population: dynamic modeling of incidence, mortality and prediabetes prevalence, 2010
2. Centers for Disease Control, Diabetes Report Card, 2012
3. Accountable Care Facts, 2011
4. Centers Medicare & Medicaid Services, Accountable Care Organizations, 2013