Diabetes Prevention Tools Not Being Used

I am not surprised by this press release and I do not think this will help in the US. Insurance companies will not allow this and prevention is not a priority. Doctors here are more interested in treating patients than using the adage of “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” No the doctors will wait until the patient is ill before offering any form of help. It is going to take intervention to force doctors to do any prevention activity in the USA. It will also take legislation to force the medical insurance companies to reimburse for prevention care.

This is starting in Medicare, but not enough emphasis has been placed on this to make it generate any cost savings in the short- or long- term. And when you wait until people reach the age of 65, most of the damage has been done to the health of an individual. A small prevention program will not succeed in generating cost savings that will amount to real savings in medical care.

The study was done in the United Kingdom at the University of London. The study indicates that there are dozens of different techniques for predicting who may develop diabetes, but next to none are currently being used. Sounds like the study could have been done in the US as well.

“The researchers say that if these tools were used by GPs and members of the public, many cases of diabetes could be prevented.”

“The team led by Dr Douglas Noble reviewed 145 different 'risk scores' for type 2 diabetes. While none were 100 per cent accurate, many gave a reasonable prediction of whether someone will develop diabetes over the next decade.”

“Research suggests that up to half of all cases of diabetes can be prevented by lifestyle measures, such as diet and exercise, or medication.”

One note to the study gives the following tool for use in assessing your risk score in greater than 20 percent. If you use this tool and your risk score is greater than 20 percent, do see your doctor and have the doctor do the tests for diabetes.