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 UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare
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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