Role of Patients: Becoming Proactive
When diabetes patients learn more about their condition, explore healthier ways to eat, incorporate exercise into their routine, and take an active role in maintaining their health, one possible benefit is a reduction in the amount of ongoing medical care they will require. It only makes sense, then, for health plan administrators like you to make participants with diabetes aware of every resource available to them. Many plans already communicate regularly with their members—to remind them to receive important tests, for example. Now there’s something you can recommend that doesn’t involve sending patients to a testing facility.
Tell patients where to find helpful information
When patients in your plan are first diagnosed with diabetes, it’s easy for them to feel overwhelmed. Pamphlets, brochures, instructions from their doctors—no wonder some of them simply decide that it’s too much information. What they need is a comprehensive resource that addresses many of their concerns in an approachable, friendly manner. And when you can guide them to exactly that, it may even help enhance their plan loyalty.
JourneyForControl.com, the online home of the Journey for Control program, contains a section devoted exclusively to the needs of patients. There they’ll find a world of resources for managing their diabetes: recipes, exercise suggestions, quizzes, dining out tips, success stories, Q & As, and more.
It’s all information that’s designed to help people with diabetes live healthier, more fulfilling lives. No products or devices are mentioned—the goal of the site is simply to provide the most in-depth information available. There are separate sections for patients, physicians, diabetes educators, and health plan administrators like you—the whole circle of diabetes management.
