Vermedx(R) Technology To Support San Antonio Diabetes Management Program

Main Category: Diabetes
Article Date: 14 May 2008 - 4:00 PST

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Vermont Clinical Decision Support, LLC, announced that the company has been selected by the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District (SAMHD) to provide central elements of its patented Vermedx® technology to assist in the city's diabetes intervention pilot program.

San Antonio's diabetes death rate was the second-highest of the 54 largest U.S. cities, according to a recent report by the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Second only to New Orleans, the rate of death from diabetes is 49.8 to every 100,000 people in 2004 which is roughly double the national rate of 24.4.

The Vermedx technology will assist the district in creating a city-based registry and utilizing its information to map the epidemiology of hyperglycemia, monitor the diabetes epidemic, and initiate improvements.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to participate in a program with such far reaching implications for improving the health of diabetes patients and reducing the cost of care," said Benjamin Littenberg, MD, CEO of Vermont Clinical Decision Support, LLC.

The Texas state legislature directed the SAMHD to conduct a pilot program for capturing and analyzing the scope and nature of the diabetic populations as the basis for future interventions to curtail the growth in the epidemic in prevalence and cost.

Starting in May 2008, the pilot program is expected to run 18 months, with at least 50,000 active diabetic patients and four major testing labs involved. SAMHD will present a detailed summary of its pilot diabetes program to the Texas Legislature in September 2009. The Legislature will then consider a similar program in other major Texas metropolitan areas.

The Vermedx Diabetes Information System ("VDIS") is a patented technology developed during the course of a five-year clinical trial funded by the National Institute of Health.

VDIS captures laboratory test results from multiple labs and automatically produces population summary reports and "report cards" at regional, community, provider, and practice levels. It also produces individual patient level health status reports with accompanying guideline-based recommendations for care. Provider organizations cite substantial cost reductions in treating patients who are covered by the Vermedx system.

http://www.vermedx.com