Profession
Survey: Most diabetics miss out on critical tests
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 12, 2006
Less than half of the United States' 14 million adults with diabetes receive three critical annual tests, according to an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality survey. The interviews conducted in 2003 as part of the most recently available Medicare Expenditure Panel Survey found that only 40% of adult diabetics received a hemoglobin A1c test, an eye exam and a foot exam in the previous year. About 50% said they had at least one of the exams while just 4.6% said they hadn't received any of the exams. The United States could save about $2.5 billion in hospital costs every year, AHRQ has estimated, if all diabetics received proper primary care to avoid complications such as blindness and gangrene.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/06/12/prbf0612.htm.