Wake-up, It’s Your Health Calling: Telemedicine and CDCs National Diabetes Prevention Program

This article originally appeared on Health Team Network’s website. You can view the original article here: https://healthteamnetwork.com/2017/12/27/wake-up-its-your-health-calling-telemedicine-the-wave-of-the-future/

Way too many people are sick and they do even know it!

FACT: More than 86 million Americans are pre-diabetic. 29 million Americans already have diabetes in a population that is 323 million. That means 1 in 3 persons are sick- the same statistic for heart disease. These numbers are staggering!

Can we prevent getting sick in the first place?

People are asking frequently if there are ways to prevent getting sick. The answer is, “Yes!”

We now know that many chronic diseases, per the National Institute of Health (NIH), can be managed, treated or prevented by making better lifestyle choices and interventions without risks and undesirable side effects.

Treating the disease itself is not the cure, it doesn’t work. The cure and focus need to be in prevention.

The CDC recently has implemented a new service called the National Diabetes Prevention Program.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has implemented a new service called the National Diabetes Prevent Program (NDPP). This is a 1-year program designed to inhibit the progression of the disease by helping pre-diabetic individuals lose 5% of their weight through diet and lifestyle modification.

The program is 22 group classes spread out over the course of a year. Each class provides focused guidance on nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, and mental health.

Clinical research published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that NDPP was more effective than the drug, metformin, as a preventative for diabetes. Metformin is a first-line medication for the treating type 2 diabetes, especially in overweight people.

Participants who successfully completed the NDPP had a 58% risk reduction and seniors had more than a 70% risk reduction in developing diabetes. People in the program eliminated the common side-effects (diarrhea/nausea) associated with the use drug, metformin.

Fruit Street, a telemedicine company is a new provider of the CDC’s NDPP that has implemented an online format through group video Telemedicine sessions i.e. 1 lifestyle coach/10 patients. The benefit of video telemedicine is that it makes it easy to immediately share data, and also makes it easier for patients to attend sessions.

Included in the program is a wireless bathroom scale to measure weight, a Fitbit which measures daily steps, and the Fruit Street application that allows for taking pictures of food, daily individual interaction, and feedback with a coach.

What does the National Diabetes Prevention Program cost?

An additional benefit of the NDPP is that it is likely covered by insurance. Health insurance companies like BCBS are required to pay for intense lifestyle modification because of the Affordable Care Act. And, Medicare proposed reimbursement for the program starts, April 2018.

Get started by reaching out today

 With so many of us growing increasingly aware of the impact poor diet and health have on our ability to live well, this pre-diabetic telemedicine platform is an exciting win/win for everyone.

Not only for diabetes prevention but potentially for other health conditions as well!

It’s a perfect combination of digital wearable devices and dietary tracking mobile applications without losing the human component. I predict this pre-diabetes platform will be a benchmark for other disease prevention.

Are you a candidate for this program or would like more information on how to sign up for the Diabetes Prevention Program email: askdrpat@healthteamnetwork.com.

Dr Pat Boulogne, DC, CCSP, AP, CFMP

AskDrPat – HealthTeamNetwork.com