Detroit Receiving Hospital Screens ER Patients For Diabetes
Detroit Receiving Hospital has used an early intervention program to identify patients who were unaware they had diabetes or are in a pre-diabetic stage.
The program, known as the known as the Diabetes Education and Lifestyle Modification Program or DEALM, was developed in conjunction with the endocrinology division at Wayne State University. It was introduced last year in conjunction with the Southeast Michigan Beacon Community health improvement initiative, screens every non-acute emergency department patient for diabetes.
Of the 13,850 patients who have been screened, 1,092 were diagnosed with diabetes. Another 3,824 patients were diagnosed as pre-diabetic. Hospital officials called the numbers “staggering.”
Those patients diagnosed as diabetic or pre-diabetic were then referred to a “health navigator” to assist them in making better lifestyle and food choices.
Among those patients who engaged with a health navigator, there was a 57% decrease in ER visits, compared to 33% among those who did not engage with a navigator.
According to data from the Michigan Department of Community Health, 1.1 million of the state's residents – about 11% in total – have diabetes, but about 250,000 of those are undiagnosed. The diabetes rate is even higher in Wayne County, which includes Detroit. Officials estimate it may affect 16% of the county's population.
The American Diabetes Association concluded in a study released earlier this year that it costs nearly $11,000 a year to treat each individual in the U.S. with diabetes, up 41% from 2007.
"What makes this intervention so unique is that for a very modest investment, we are not only identifying patients with type 2 diabetes who really need help with their condition, but we are connecting them with care and resources that help them do something about it," said Padraic Sweeny, M.D., chief of Detroit Receiving Hospital's emergency department. "this is exactly the type of turnkey initiative that can help reduce the burden on emergency departments, while at the same time, have a longstanding impact on an individual's health, and the health of the community."
