Every Diabetic Counts

The Every Diabetic Counts program seeks to reduce disparities in health care between underserved* Medicare diabetics and non-underserved Medicare diabetics.  eQHealth Solutions collaborates with various organizations to reduce this disparity and improve diabetes outcomes.

Under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) 9th Scope of Work (SOW), eQHealth is focused on delivering diabetes self-management education projects in five Louisiana parishes as part of a pilot project.  Diabetes self-management education is an approach that has been demonstrated to be effective in improving diabetes clinical outcomes, preventing disease, promoting health and delivering culturally appropriate care.

Forty physician practices will participate in the project, which provides a concentrated program of Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) to their Medicare patients with diabetes. The work of the physician practices will be supported by trained community health workers. The educational component of the program was developed by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Education is being provided at no charge.

Benefits to the physician and patient include:
• Free diabetes self-management education at convenient, community-based locations
• Improvement in diabetes management control in enrolled patients
• Support to physician and staff for all facets of the program
• Marketing physicians participation in the diabetes self management programs to present and potential patients and their families
• Participation in a national initiative; Louisiana is one of only six states and territories in the United States to be funded for this initiative

For more information about the Every Diabetic Counts project, please call Linda Harkey, eQHealth Solutions Quality Improvement Director, at (225) 926-6353 or (888) 321-3555.