Consumers to Be Focal Point at Diabetes Meeting for Policymakers, Health Plans, and Pharma

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

June 19, 2013

Consumers to Be Focal Point at Diabetes Meeting for Policymakers, Health Plans, and Pharma

Patient-Centered Diabetes Care: Future Directions Gathers June 20 in Chicago

PLAINSBORO, N.J. — The American Journal of Managed Care and Precision Health Economics will hold a one-day meeting to promote better partnerships among all partners involved in diabetes management — physicians, health plan leaders, policymakers, and the creators of life-saving medicines.

The session, Patient-Centered Diabetes Care: Future Directions, will be June 20 at the University of Chicago Law School, 1111 East 60^th St., Chicago. Breakfast begins at 8 a.m., and speakers begin at 9 a.m. The meeting concludes at 3:30 p.m.

The event takes place one day before the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in Chicago. “We wanted to make it convenient for leaders in diabetes care to have the most important discussion we must have: How do we take all we are learning about this epidemic and use it to improve patient care?” said Brian Haug, president of Intellisphere LLC, which publishes The American Journal of Managed Care and its indexed news publication, Evidence-Based Diabetes Management.

The keynote speaker will be Anne Peters, MD, CDE, and Director of the Clinical Diabetes Program at the University of Southern California. Panel discussions will address tailoring therapies to the right patients, how patient behavior affects the quality of care and outcomes, and how to address issues of patient adherence, which in diabetes care can refer to whether patients follow doctors’ instructions to take medicine, stay on a diet, or maintain proper foot or eye care.

Dr. Deneen Vojta, senior vice president for Business Initiatives and Clinical Affairs at UnitedHealth Group, will close the program by addressing how to cultivate relationships between health plans and insurers — the entities that pay for care – and pharmaceutical companies, which develop the medicines that can control symptoms and keep diabetes patients out of the hospital.

In March, AJMC launched its second indexed news publication, Evidence-Based Diabetes Management, in response to the extraordinary need for information forum to be shared by physicians, health plans, pharmaceutical leaders and policymakers. Earlier this year, the ADA announced results of a study that showed diabetes cost the nation $245 billion in 2012, a 41 percent jump from 2007.

“When the ADA announced the rise in the financial and human toll that diabetes takes from our economy and from the lives of everyday Americans, it was alarming, but sadly, not entirely surprising,” Haug said. “Because we are in close touch with the medical community and have been for nearly two decades, we were already responding to this crisis. This week’s meeting is a continuation of that response.”

Members of the press are invited but are encouraged to register in advance. For a PDF of the full day’s schedule, please see http://www.ajmc.com/meetings/diabetes.

To follow this event on Twitter, see #PCDC13.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MANAGED CARE

The American Journal of Managed Care, founded in 1995, is an independent, peer-reviewed publication dedicated to disseminating clinical information to managed care physicians, clinical decision makers, and other healthcare professionals. Its aim is to stimulate scientific communication in the ever-evolving field of managed care. Based in Plainsboro, N.J., AJMC addresses a broad range of issues relevant to clinical decision making in a cost-constrained environment and examines the impact of clinical, management, and policy interventions and programs on healthcare and economic outcomes. The Journal is mailed to nearly 49,000 clinical decision makers in managed care, including physicians, hospital directors, and medical / pharmacy / formulary directors at managed care organizations.

ABOUT PRECISION HEALTH ECONOMICS

Academic health economists from leading research universities founded Precision Health Economics in 2005 with a dual mission: to develop high-value solutions for clients in the health care industry, using sophisticated data-driven analysis tailored to each client’s strategic needs; and to improve public policy through insightful, issue-driven research. Since then, PHE has grown into a firm with dozens of professionals and academic affiliates, serving an array of global health care clients on a range of commercial and policy issues. PHE’s academic roots imbue our firm with creativity, rigor, and intellectual integrity, all of which seamlessly combine with the practicality and professionalism of our experienced consultants. Today, PHE has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston.

CONTACT: Nicole Beagin

609-716-7777 x131

nbeagin@ajmc.com