HealthPartners study on identifying, treating borderline diabetes in rural areas

Nine out of 10 people who have it, don’t know it

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – July 21, 2015 – HealthPartners Institute for Education and Research is beginning a 5-year study to see if web-based clinical decision support (CDS) can help clinicians identify and treat patients who have prediabetes also known as borderline diabetes. People with prediabetes have blood sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. Without intervention, 15 percent to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years.

“Clinical decision support in electronic medical records has improved care for diabetes and appropriate high-tech imaging and we hope to see if it can improve care for people at risk of developing diabetes,” said Jay R Desai, PhD principal investigator. Nearly one in three adults in the U.S. has prediabetes according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition increases the risk of heart attacks and stroke but can be managed with medication, changes in diet and exercise and maintaining a healthy weight.

The study, funded by a $3.7 million grant from National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, will involve 17,000 patients with prediabetes in at least 30 Essentia Health primary care clinics in northern Minnesota, northwest Wisconsin, and eastern North Dakota. Researchers will implement and evaluate a CDS system that identifies patients with prediabetes and provides them and their primary care providers with personalized care recommendations.

“This study aims to impact our patients’ lives by reducing their cardiovascular risk and improving their quality of life,” said Daniel M. Saman, DrPH, MPH, CPH, associate research scientist, Essentia Institute of Rural Health.

More than 1 in 5 health care dollars in the U.S. goes to the care of people with diagnosed diabetes. The average medical costs among people with diagnosed diabetes is 2.3 times higher compared to people who do not have diabetes according to the American Diabetes Association.