Continuous Improvement and the Expansion of Quality ... - NCQA

C H R o N I C D I S E A S E M A N A G E M E N T
50
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. for people with diabetes, the
risk of death is twice that of people without diabetes. 1,2 Diabetes, especially when unmanaged,
may lead to blindness, heart disease and limb amputation. 1 It is also the leading cause of kidney
failure, accounting for 45 percent of new cases. 3 People with diabetes face tripled risk of stroke,
compared with people who have normal blood sugar levels. 4
Almost 26 million Americans are diabetic
and an additional 79 million adults are
prediabetic. 1 The number of diabetics is
increasing dramatically, due in large part
to the rising number of Americans who are
overweight or obese. 2
The Comprehensive Diabetes Care measure
assesses whether patients receive guidelinerecommended
care and achieve control levels
for their blood sugar, cholesterol and blood
pressure.
the Case for Improvement
• In 2007, diabetes was estimated to cost the
U.S. economy $174 billion. of this, $116
billion was attributed to the cost of medical
care. Another $58 billion was lost through
disability, missed work days and premature
mortality. 2
N AT I o N A l C o M M I T T E E f o R Q U A l I T y A S S U R A N C E
CoMPREHENSIVE DIAbETES CARE
• between 1980 and 2006, the number of
hospitalizations for patients with diabetes
more than doubled. 5 Diabetes was the
primary diagnosis in almost 550,000
hospitalizations in 2009, when the average
medical charge was $12,849 for diabetes
without complications and $29,851 for
diabetes with complications. 6
• Improving blood sugar control has shown
to result in lower health care use and
better overall satisfaction with diabetes
treatment. 7,8 People who controlled their
diabetes also reported improved quality of
life and emotional well-being. 9
HEdIs Measure definition
The percentage of adults 18–75 years of age
with diabetes (type 1 and type 2) who had
each of the following:
• Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing
• HbA1c poor control (>9.0%)
• HbA1c control (