Informatics Project Targets Diabetics

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Informatics Project Targets Diabetics

Proponents of health care informatics tout its potential to bring nursing and other medical services to traditionally underserved populations, and a new project aims to make that possibility a reality.

This past March, the Health Care Financing Administration approved a demonstration project that uses advanced computer and communications technology to bring higher quality health care to diabetics living in isolated rural and inner-city areas. Noting that death and severe complications are disproportionately high among diabetics who live in areas that are medically underserved, HCFA states that the four-year effort seeks to provide various health services to Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes.

The Informatics, Telemedicine and Education Demonstration Project will use home telemedicine units linked to a clinical information system maintained by Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Units will be placed in patients’ homes to allow video conferencing, access to information and medical data interchange. Computerized devices will check blood pressure, read blood sugar levels, take pictures of skin and feet for signs of infection and screen for other factors that affect diabetes management. The clinical information system will provide clinical data to be used in the development and application of patient care guidelines and clinical standards. The agreement also establishes requirements to ensure the protection of medical records confidentiality and patient privacy.

One full-time case manager is planned for every 200 diabetic patients. The case manager will monitor the data and if information from a patient varies from care guidelines, a physician or nurse will be alerted.

Patients who will participate in the program include African-American and Spanish-speaking Medicare beneficiaries living in northern Manhattan and in rural areas of central and upstate New York. Patients will receive feedback, including care reminders and suggestions on how to maintain good health. HCFA hopes that these measures will empower the patients to become more effective partners in managing their diabetes-related care.

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