Diabetes In Control. A free weekly diabetes newsletter for Medical Professionals. News and information for Medical Professionals.
The new year is finally here which means the Affordable Care Act started this past Wednesday. The start-up has been fraught with computer problems, misrepresentations, and half-truths from all sides of the political spectrum. As a medical professional, however, the real question is, will patients be better off? Last Thursday, I received an email from one of my patients who is also a friend and who has been insulin-dependent for 20 years. I’d like to share it with you here:
"I used my new health care insurance on my diabetic test strips today and only paid $15. I was paying $85 under the PCIP program. Hey, a $70 savings on one thing is a lot to me! At first I was kind of skeptical to be honest about any health insurance and the lower payment I was now paying for the plan but… damn! It’s for real and I am very happy. Going to my doctor tomorrow for blood work and seeing the doctor for the first time in 6 months on Friday. I’ll keep everyone posted on how well this health care is. So far… I am very happy!”
Although this is just one patient I think we are going to see more of these types of comments as time goes by. We are also going to need to have better care for our patients and they are going to have to see medical professionals more often to get it. To get a handle on just how much we should do for our patients, check out the new 2014 Diabetes Care Guidelines, and to see why soon enough the quality of care will dictate your salary take a look at Item #6 to learn about Pay for Performance.
One way to help improve your performance as a prescriber is to add another medical professional to your team to help manage your patients. Take a look at Item #9 and see how pharmacists like Andrew Bzowyckyi at the University of Missouri are helping physicians take better care of their patients.
*****
Dave Joffe, Editor-in-chief