CMS Expands “Every Diabetic Counts” Model as Part of New Campaign in Mississippi

CMS recently announced the launch of the Mississippi Health First Collaborative, a statewide effort with federal agencies, national non-profit and state partners to improve care for patients with diabetes, particularly the medically underserved. At its core, the Mississippi Health First Collaborative uses the diabetes-self management model that other QIOs have been using throughout the 9th SOW as part of the “Every Diabetic Counts” project.

Research from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality and other sources depict a bleak picture of the health of Mississippi’s population – the state has one of the nation’s highest obesity rates; along with high rates of diabetes, poverty and medical need. Many individuals in the state face economic, cultural, or linguistic barriers to health care or live in areas with a shortage of health professionals.

As part of the Collaborative, patients will receive diabetes self-management training in their home communities, in locations such as community centers or senior centers, instead of in hospitals or other traditional health care settings, such as doctors’ offices or outpatient clinics. The Collaborative members will help motivate and educate diabetes patients across the state to take preventive action against some of the complications of diabetes. Patients will get diabetes self-management training classes and health education literature on how to best control their blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels; establish relationships with primary-care providers; improve their nutritional and exercise habits; and develop support networks of family, friends, and community-based social services.

“The Mississippi Health First Collaborative  is a first for all of us,” said CMS Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Office of Clinical Standards and Quality, Barry M. Straube, M.D. “It’s a first for patients, who will receive help managing their diabetes in community settings that are both familiar and comfortable to them. It’s also a first for CMS and our extensive network of diabetes partners in Mississippi—to bring partners together in a way that let us all reach thousands more patients than we could have possibly reached alone.”

During the next 18 months, CMS and other Collaborative members will work together to reach thousands of patients with diabetes in Mississippi, through Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics, existing and newly formed diabetes training programs, Area Agencies on Aging, the Division of Aging and Adult Services, housing authorities, and state and local health departments. CMS is mobilizing community groups, health experts, faith-based organizations, housing providers, healthcare providers, community leaders and others to reach patients across the state, including those with Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, and others without insurance.

Since August 2008, Medicare’s QIOs have worked with local organizations and groups in targeted parts of the country to bring diabetes self-management training to their communities. QIOs work in every state and territory of the United States to improve the quality of healthcare available to local Medicare beneficiaries. QIOs for the states/territories of New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have worked with hundreds of doctors’ offices to identify Medicare patients who could benefit from diabetes self-management training. To date, these efforts have helped more than 2,700 Medicare beneficiaries. Through the summer of 2011, Medicare hopes to train at least 7,000 more beneficiaries in these states and territories.