CVS Caremark Grows Diabetes Care Program, Offers New Tools

CVS Caremark announced plans to expand upon its successful Transform Diabetes Care program (TDC) focusing on greater prevention, adding more areas of care and intervention models for patients with diabetes and hypertension.

Since its launch in December 2016, TDC has improved HbA1c levels by an average 1.2 percentage points in members enrolled in the program.

“TDC combines local points-of-care, remote biometric monitoring, and interventions led by health care professionals within a member-centric model to provide personalized guidance and resources to help members comply with their prescribed therapy,” according to CVS’ briefing.

“Successful diabetes management requires a comprehensive model of care management support for those members with diabetes, as well as a proactive strategy to help reduce the risk of developing diabetes,” Troy Brennan, MD, executive vice president and chief medical officer for CVS Health, said about the program’s expansion. “Doing so can help payers improve their members’ health, avoid future complications, and reduce medical costs relative to one of the most prevalent and complex disease states within their population,”

Going forward, TDC will be addressing additional areas of care as a proactive strategy to reduce the risk of developing diabetes. TDC utilizes an advanced analytical engine that enables the CVS pharmacy benefit managers to better evaluate pharmacy, medical, and lab data to identify patients at risk of diabetes. Per data from the briefing, prevention programs that create life style changes in patients reduce the risk of developing diabetes by approximately 58% over 3 years.

New modules directed at those with prediabetes—of whom 90%, according to the CDC, are unaware they are at risk—have been added under the expansion. Enrolled members in the program will receive a digital scale, an app-based, CDC approved 12-month diabetes prevention curriculum, and expert-led health coaching.

Another part of the expansion focuses on hypertension which is two times more frequent in diabetic patients. The Transform Care Hypertension program will provide members with a blood pressure cuff, access to an app-based management program, and expert-led health coaching. These additions to the program are designed to not only improve care for patients but address the high cost burden that diabetes poses on 1 in every 11 Americans and our health care system as a whole.

“With the expansion of services provided through the Transform Diabetes Care program, we are bringing the expertise and proven success of the program to even more members,” concluded Dr Brennan in the briefing. “With targeted support and counseling we can help members reduce the risk of developing diabetes and help those already diagnosed with diabetes and/or hypertension better manage their condition.”

—Edan Stanley

Reference:
Brennan T. Transform Diabetes Care Expands to Improve Health for Members: Proven Interventions Now Available to Those With Prediabetes, Hypertension [briefing]. CVSHealth website. https://payorsolutions.cvshealth.com/insights/transform-diabetes-care-expands-to-improve-health-for-members. Accessed July 30, 2019.