DM programs require deep thinking

Article

DIABETES, ASTHMA cardiovascular disorders, high-risk pregnancy and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), will continue to account for anywhere between 55% and 70% of medical costs, according to industry experts. For these disease states, executives are taking a look at more creative DM programs, but they also are seeing emerging diseases on the horizon.

In addition, executives are talking to employers about diseases that cost them the most in worker productivity. "Emergence of DM programs for low-back pain and other muscular-skeletal-type disorders will increase over time. Although they are not life-threatening, from an employer's standpoint they are responsible for a lot of absenteeism and presenteeism," Dr. DePhillips says. "In the future, they will want to know how to measure the success of disease management programs on return to work."

SPECIALIZED DM

SWH developed a care management model that incorporates elements of DM that includes self-management and member and caregiver education, Baackes says.

RADIOLOGY

For certain chronic diseases, including various forms of cancer, chronic obstructive lung disease and asthma, the ordering of appropriate radiology tests is an important component of detecting and managing them, says Gregg Allen, MD, chief medical officer of MedSolutions.

DM interventions for complex, chronic conditions require astute radiology management:

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