Byram Healthcare Introduces Specialty Diabetes Clinical Program For Latino Patients

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 28 Mar 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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Byram Healthcare, Inc., a leading provider of integrated clinical solutions and medical supplies, announced the national launch of its Latino Diabetes Program.

The Byram Latino Diabetes Program provides high-quality, cost-effective care to the U.S. Latino population with diabetes. The program removes language barriers for Spanish-speaking patients by providing all communications in Spanish, ongoing diabetes educational support and reimbursement capabilities that are delivered by a dedicated team of Spanish-speaking experts. The program and its components facilitate access to quality diabetes care and improved patient outcomes.

Features of the Latino Diabetes Program include: dedicated phone lines that connect the patient directly to Latino customer service centers located throughout the U.S., Spanish medication labels and clinical instructions, bilingual diabetes educators and support lines, and Spanish-speaking coordinators that place follow-up calls to assess patients' ongoing needs. All interactions are conducted in Spanish including new patient set-up, reordering, reimbursement and the Byram Diabetes Education Careline. The Byram Latino Diabetes Program also offers full prescriptive services in 16 states.

Byram's introduction of its Latino Diabetes Program comes at the conclusion of a pilot program conducted in California, where according to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau statistics, 35.9 percent of the California population is Latino. Nationally, this group comprises 14.8 percent of the total U.S. populace.

Byram developed its program based on a clear understanding of changing U.S. demographics. There is a high incidence rate for diabetes among the Latino population at 2-4 times that of non-Latino Caucasians. Research has shown that there is an early onset of diabetes among Latinos but with early intervention better outcomes can be achieved.

"Until now, language has been a barrier to accessing the highest quality of care. During the past 12-18 months, Byram has focused on developing clinical programs targeted at specific chronic conditions and demographics. The Latino Diabetes Program is just one example of the specialty programs we have introduced to the healthcare community," noted Richard M. Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer at Byram.

"For the Latino population with diabetes, we identified a void in the marketplace and recognized the need for a culturally relevant program that would address this growing demographic. Our goal is to facilitate improved access, provide quality patient care, and reduce costs for payors and the out-of-pocket expenses for patients. This is about more than just providing medical supplies, it is our firm commitment to the Latino community. We have created an organization within Byram dedicated to serving the Latino patient with diabetes. Our team consists of highly trained Spanish-speaking customer service professionals and reimbursement experts who are skilled in navigating the reimbursement landscape. Diabetes education and ongoing support are important components of our program," Smith concluded.

Julie Altwies, Vice President, who heads Byram's Diabetes Marketing Team, added: "Byram's Latino-focused program has been well received by many of our health plan customers because a significant percentage of the lives we cover are represented by the Latino population. There is a real demand for programs like this, which remove the obstacles Latino patients may face when attempting to access high-quality care. Our payor clients have noted that this program has been extremely beneficial in terms of enhancing their offering and expanding the quality of services afforded to their members. This program is truly making a difference."

According to the American Diabetes Association, one in two minorities born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes during their lifetime if present trends continue. This presents significant challenges to an already burdened U.S. Healthcare system. Programs targeted to meet these challenges and provide solutions will be critical in the future.

Founded 40 years ago, White Plains, N.Y.-based Byram Healthcare is a leading provider of medical supplies. The company fills more than one million patient orders annually, serves 300,000 patients and through its various managed care contractual relationships, reaches 115 million covered lives from six distribution and 10 customer call centers located across the country. Byram Healthcare is recognized for its clinical support programs that include the diabetes, wound care, ostomy, urological, incontinence and enteral nutrition areas. These complementary programs are designed to improve access, quality of care, and reduce costs.

Byram Healthcare