- By Liz Heath
- Business & Technology
The Diabetes Recognition Program was designed to improve the quality of care that patients with diabetes receive by recognizing clinicians who deliver quality diabetes care, and by motivating other clinicians to document and improve their delivery of diabetes care. To receive recognition, Cayuga Medical Associates submitted data that demonstrates performance that meets the Program’s key diabetes care measures. These measures include eye exams, foot care, blood pressure tests, and blood sugar monitoring, among others.
Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and can lead to heart disease, stroke, blindness, and kidney failure. The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) reports that 25.8 million people have diabetes in the United States. This equates to about 8.3% of the population. Currently, 18.8 million people have been diagnosed in the United States while
7.0 million people do not know they have diabetes. 1.9 million people in the United States over the age of 20 are diagnosed with diabetes each year. It is anticipated that both Type #1 and Type #2 diabetes will go up as the baby boomer population grows older.
Elisabeth Cotton, MD, one of the lead physicians of the project noted that “This project took 18 months and the hard work and collaboration of the entire staff of 32 in our CMA Internal Medicine Office. We established new processes to heighten the care of diabetes patients and are proud to have achieved recognition for it.”
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