A pebble rolling down a slope is a simple thing to stop. An avalanche isn't. And we all know that diabetes, when left untreated, can turn into an avalanche of illnesses, with expensive and painful interventions, and ultimately threaten to cut lives short of diminish the quality of life for people living with diabetes.
The Teladoc Health Diabetes Management program empowers patients to recognize the pebbles, and keep them in check through monitoring, coaching, and other personalized support.
The Cost of Intervention
When we introduce clients to the benefits of using Diabetes Management, we often start by looking at their stats, as reported in our Beyond Insights data and analytics tool, to see how many members they have in treatment for diabetes, and how much they’re spending. It is surprising how many are still spending at or above their industry benchmark for diabetes spending. Among commercial groups, for example, the normal benchmark is $18,000 per patient per year for diabetes treatment[1]. However, unmanaged diabetes can lead to kidney failure and ongoing dialysis treatment, kidney transplants, amputations, and a whole host of life-changing and expensive medical interventions.
The good news is that we can delay or prevent so many of these unfortunate outcomes with proper care. That’s where Diabetes Management through Livongo comes in. With a slick digital presence, a deep understanding of human nature, individual coaching and top-notch information technology, Livongo gives members the tools they need to manage their condition. From testing strips to office visits, Livongo is there at members’ fingertips, ready to help. However, members must show initiative. Livongo works when members put in the effort. And the results are astounding.
Results Talk
While it’s impossible to quantify the value the Teladoc Health Diabetes Management program delivers by enhancing members’ lives, we can look at the numbers in healthcare spending to see the impact Diabetes Management has on the bottom line. On average, when members interact with Diabetes Management, employers save $131 per month, per patient, according to data from Miliman. That’s over $1,500 each year in savings, and it doesn’t even take into account the expense employers are saving by preventing the need for dialysis and transplants down the road.
It’s also important to remember that, while patient participation is required in order to achieve these savings, employers are only charged for those patients who actively participate in Diabetes Management. This helps to keep the ROI high for clients.
Changing the Future
By working with patients, and with employers to get the message out, we can build a better future for members and employers. Prevention is the best medicine, and we would love to bring it to your clients or members, too. Connect with us and let’s talk about how Luminare Health and Teladoc Health can help you.
[1] Internal data