Hospitals adopt intensive programs for diabetic patients to avoid high inpatient costs

Just over a year ago, a 24-year-old man walked into a free health screening at Palmyra Medical Centers in Albany, Ga., complaining of weight loss, unending thirst and frequent urination. A quick blood test revealed the man was diabetic, with an alarming hemoglobin A1c level of 20.1. After six months of intervention, the man's hemoglobin dropped to an excellent rating of 7.1 and his physician is now ready to take him off insulin, said Layne Cox, program manager of the Diabetes Treatment Center at Palmyra, a Columbia/HCA hospital. While health fairs of yesterday were used to attract patients into the hospital, today's outreach programs are measured by success stories such as this. The goal now is to keep patients healthy and out of the hospital to reduce costs to managed care plans and health-care providers at risk through capitation contracts.