Improvement Needed in Preventive Care for Diabetes:

According to studies, the health care received by the majority of diabetes patients does not meet the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Standards of Care. Patients with Type 2 Diabetes who are not treated with insulin account for the majority (60%) of people currently diagnosed with diabetes, yet they are at high risk for suboptimal levels of care.

More than 90% of diabetes patients receive their care from primary care providers who may not have a special interest in or up-to-date information on diabetes and who see diabetes patients in the course of busy days filled with patient-generated visits for specific problems, most of which are not related to diabetes.

According to the 1994 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a Center for Disease Control (CDC) funded study in which 2118 adults with self-reported diabetes were asked specific questions about preventive care practices, under use of recommended preventive care practices is common among people with diabetes.

Results of the 1994 survey included the following: only one in four people with diabetes is aware of HbA1c, one out of five Americans with diabetes does not practice any self-monitoring of blood glucose, and one-quarter either make no annual visits to a health care provider for diabetes care or visit but are unsure why. Seven out of ten individuals said that they visited a health care provider for diabetes care during the previous year, but four out of ten could not recall either having their feet inspected or receiving an annual dilated eye examination during that period. Overall, less than 2% of adults with diabetes received the quality of care defined by the ADA standards.

At-home sample collection kits can help patients achieve better results:

According to The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) Diabetes Self-Management-2000 Update, "When the patient becomes an active participant in diabetes management, adherence to effective therapy will increase and diabetes-related complications will decrease." FlexSite Diagnostics' convenient at-home sample collection kits allow patients to become active participants, which improves their understanding of the lab tests as well as their overall diabetes management plan.

Along with the ease and convenience of our test kits, FlexSite Diagnostics also provides the consistency and accuracy of a single laboratory that can serve patients in any location in the U.S. If patients are traveling or move to a new location, results from various laboratories can't necessarily be compared because of the use of different assay methods as well as human variances. With FlexSite's at-home sample collection kits, patients can obtain their own sample from any location, mail it to our licensed clinical laboratory and receive the results.

Improvement needed in frequency of HbA1c testing:

The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), a landmark clinical study conducted from 1983 to 1993 by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), played a major role in substantiating the value of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing in the management of diabetes. Results demonstrated that keeping blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible slows the onset and progression of eye, kidney, and nerve diseases caused by diabetes. In fact, it showed that any sustained lowering of blood glucose helps, even if the person has a history of poor control. (Results of the DCCT are reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, 329(14), September 30, 1993.)

The ADA recommends HbA1c testing for all people with diabetes at least twice a year, and four times annually for those requiring insulin injections as well as those who are not controlling their glucose levels. However, according to a nationwide survey by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE), only 25 percent of people with diabetes know their HbA1c level and less than 20 percent have their HbA1c tested regularly.

ADA Provider Recognition Program uses HbA1c as a Criterion:

The recently implemented ADA Provider Recognition Program recognizes excellence in patient care by issuing certificates to diabetes care providers based on a rigid set of quality care criteria. The program uses HbA1c testing as one of these criteria, and requires one or more HbA1c tests be performed per patient per year. It also requires that 84% of HbA1c values be less than 10% and 34% of HbA1c values be less than 8% using NGSP-certified methods.

References:

"Population-Based Assessment of the Level of Care Among Adults with Diabetes in the US," Beckles, et. al., Diabetes Care, vol. 21, no. 9, Sept. 1998

"A Population-Based Approach to Diabetes Management in a Primary Care Setting: Early Results and Lessons Learned," McCullough, et. al., Effective Clinical Practice, Aug. / Sept. 1998.

"The Role of the Clinical Laboratory In the New Approach to Diabetes," David Rezendes, MS (CLS) and James Faix, MD, Clinical Laboratory News, vol. 23, no. 7, July 1997.