Study: Comprehensive Eye Exams Can Help Re-Engage Patients into Care for Certain Chronic Conditions, with the Potential to He...
May 19 2015 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
- UnitedHealthcare study shows that 57
percent of patients with chronic conditions who receive a
comprehensive eye exam became re-engaged with a primary care
physician or specialist in managing their ongoing illness
- Employers that adopt integrated eye
health and medical benefits, along with health and wellness
programs, may improve employee well-being and reduce medical
costs
Comprehensive eye exams can help re-engage patients into care
for certain chronic conditions, with eye care professionals
encouraging people to seek follow-up treatments from primary care
physicians and specialists, according to a new study by
UnitedHealthcare.
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Eye Exam Impacts on Re-engagement for Chronic Conditions
demonstrates for the first time how eye care professionals can play
a key role in helping re-engage patients with chronic conditions
into care. This may help enable cost savings and prevention of
disease progression and complications. Study results showed that 33
percent of previously unengaged patients, defined as lacking
medical care for any chronic conditions over the previous 18
months, were re-engaged into care with a primary care physician or
specialist within 60 days following an eye exam. Another 24 percent
of patients were re-engaged after 60 days following an eye
exam.
The study followed more than 2,300 UnitedHealthcare plan
participants enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans to
determine whether patients lacking care for chronic conditions
followed up for treatment with a primary care physician or
specialist after an eye exam. The study examined re-engagement
rates for people with seven chronic conditions: Crohn’s disease,
diabetes, Graves’ disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, multiple
sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The results are important
considering many people visit their eye care doctor more frequently
than their primary care provider.
More than 117 million people nationwide, or nearly one of every
two adults, suffer from at least one chronic condition, while one
quarter of adults have two or more conditions, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 29
million people have diabetes; 73.5 million have high LDL
cholesterol; and 70 million have hypertension, according to the
CDC.
“This study demonstrates the important role comprehensive eye
exams play in re-engaging patients into care, especially for
chronic conditions,” said Linda Chous, O.D., chief eye care officer
for UnitedHealthcare Vision. “When patients are reconnected into
care, the prevention of disease progression and complications can
be realized, which may contribute to improved patient health and
reduced costs.”
The new report builds on the findings of a previous
UnitedHealthcare study, “Impact of Eye Exams in Identifying Chronic
Conditions,” published in 2014. That study demonstrated how
comprehensive eye exams can help eye-care doctors identify some
chronic conditions – such as high cholesterol, hypertension,
rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s
disease and Graves’ disease – helping with early diagnosis so
people can obtain appropriate treatment sooner and take steps to
better manage their disease.
“The eyes are the only place on the body to offer a noninvasive
view of the blood vessels, which means a comprehensive eye exam can
reveal important information about a patient’s overall health, as
well as their vision,” Dr. Chous added.
Employers are increasingly recognizing the role eye health plays
in overall health, adopting integrated vision and medical benefits
programs such as UnitedHealthcare’s Bridge2Health®, which supports
patients and health care professionals with information, decisions
and outcomes. Bridge2Health does the following:
- integrates medical and vision data to
close gaps in care and identify opportunities for interventions,
including monitoring of 23 chronic conditions;
- identifies people with chronic
conditions for eye care providers, and helps ensure that patients’
eyes be dilated during the exam to provide a better view of eye
health and overall health;
- contacts plan participants by phone
with eye exam reminders for people with chronic conditions who have
not had an exam; and
- refers people with diabetes to disease
management programs that may save more than $1,800 per patient per
year, according to the 2014 UnitedHealthcare study.
More than 170 companies representing 5.3 million plan
participants have already selected Bridge2Health’s integrated
approach for vision benefits to help create healthier employees,
lower health care costs and increase productivity. With wellness as
a core value for many companies, programs such as
UnitedHealthcare’s Bridge2Health provide employees with the most
advanced programs and resources that encourage a healthier
workforce.
About
UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping
people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health
care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and
sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company
offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for
individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and
their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and
contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care
professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities
nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and
well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at
www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150519005338/en/
UnitedHealthcareWill Shanley,
714-204-8005will.shanley@uhc.com
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