On Tuesday, June 15^th, we held Part One of a three-part series webinar with Roche, entitled “Reducing the Burden on Population Health by Stopping Chronic Diseases Before They Start.”  Part One’s focus was Diabetes.  The vital element in diabetes treatment is management – keeping track of your numbers, which include:

• Blood sugars
• Medicine doses
• Nutritional intake
• Exercise goals
• Lab work

It is essential for employers to understand what Diabetes health management entails.  For example, be aware of the claim costs your employees must pay. And start to consider the amount of time it takes to visit the endocrinologist – travel time to and from work, waiting before the appointment, and then finally seeing the doctor.  This is all time away from work for your employee, which may mean less pay.  One possible consideration is to include telehealth in health insurance plans.  That way an appointment may only take one hour versus three hours. (It’s important to note that studies have shown that 40% of employees with Diabetes do not share this information at work.)

Roche also has an app for smartphones called “mySugr.” This app is a free diabetes logbook that keeps track of all those important numbers mentioned above and makes it easy to share them with your doctor immediately.  Roche’s studies around their app shows that with the help and ease of “mySugr” there was increased and retained engagement for patients with diabetes. 

As an employer, when choosing healthcare, remember that your employees are a diverse group of individuals.  One size does not fit all in healthcare, so have options in the plans you provide.

Part Two of the series will be on July 20^th and Part Three will take place on August 17^th.  Topics covered will be obesity and hypertension.  Check back into our events page for more details.