Episode 6 - Diabetes and the Burden of Disease

In addition to the substantial clinical burden that is tied to diabetes in US, the annual economic burden that is associated with disease management jumps from $18 billion to $232 billion between the transition of pre-diabetes to full-fledged diabetes. In an effort to prevent that shift to diabetes, mitigate the development of detrimental comorbidities, and to avoid downstream consequences such as end-stage organ damage, the panelists acknowledged that it is critical to diagnose and treat patients earlier and more aggressively. Although patients will present with varying stages of disease upon initial diagnosis, there is optimism that opportunities can be created and seized to better patient outcomes, improve quality of life, and reduce the managed care burden.