Diabetes is a long-term (chronic) disease that affects the body’s ability to convert food into energy.

Your body turns the bulk of what you eat into sugar, which is then released into the bloodstream. Insulin is released because the body’s blood sugar levels increase after eating since you need insulin for glucose to permeate your body’s cells and be utilized as energy.

If you have diabetes mellitus, your body will either produce insufficient insulin or utilize it incorrectly. Excess glucose accumulates in your bloodstream when you have this condition, and your cells cease to react to insulin, or your insulin is too low. That can eventually cause serious health issues like heart disease, renal disease, and eyesight loss.

There isn’t a known cure for diabetes yet, although proper diabetes management enables patients to lead normal lives.

Diabetes by the numbers

One in five of the more than 37 million persons in the US who have diabetes are unaware of it. It ranks as the seventh leading cause of death in the US.

Amputations of the lower limbs are also often caused by diabetes, along with adult blindness and renal failure. The number of adults with diabetes has more than doubled over the past 20 years.

Crucial Factors When Implementing Diabetes Management Solutions

For payers looking to bolster or come up with diabetes management solutions, it is essential to include wellness solutions, address mental health and enhance member engagement. Because of endless combinations of lifestyles and comorbidities within the member populations living with diabetes, payers have many factors to consider when growing and expanding their diabetes management solutions.

Diabetes is among the most expensive chronic conditions in the USA. Over 32 million Americans live with this condition, and in 2017, it cost the nation about $327 billion in lost productivity and healthcare spending. Because diabetes management may differ from member to member, payers always seek versatile avenues to offer them support.

For instance, some payers will focus on individual diabetes management while others collaborate with employers to address the condition. Outcomes offers both options to payers and excellent strategies to foster holistic diabetes management solutions.