The Impact of Patient Navigation on Diabetes

Diabetes is a growing concern in the United States as it is associated with increasing rates of mortality and morbidity, in addition to rising healthcare costs. It is the seventh-leading cause of death in the U.S. From 1980 through 2014, the number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes increased fourfold (from 5.5 million to 22 million). Consequently, costs associated with diabetes have soared to an estimated $245 billion, representing an average annual cost of approximately $13,700 per patient with diabetes. Moreover, approximately 28%, or 8.1 million people, with diabetes are undiagnosed. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95% of all cases and can be managed with appropriate lifestyle interventions. Many patients need assistance understanding and managing their disease. However, effective management is difficult for individuals and their healthcare providers. Physicians typically do not have the time or resources to address these patient factors that may influence health outcomes for people with diabetes: adherence to treatment regimen, beliefs, attitudes, culture, understanding of the disease, language ability and health literacy, socioeconomic status, comorbidities, and social support. Behavior modification poses many challenges. In this study, the authors evaluate the impact of a patient navigation program developed by Pack Health, Birmingham, Alabama, to address these challenges. The patient navigation program motivates and educates patients and supports them in changing behavior to help them manage their diabetes effectively. The authors found that patients enrolled in the patient navigation program had greater understanding of diabetes after the program and, on average, their hemoglobin A1c level decreased by 1%.