Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia is recruiting members with diabetes for a national study testing the viability of an online self-management program, as the Blues and other insurers look for viable approaches to the expensive problem of diabetes.
Called Better Choices, Better Health, the Stanford University-developed program blends self-direction and self-monitoring with aspects of personal and group therapy, with workshops on eating, diet and exercise and an online community of up to 25 patients who are encouraged to share experiences and tips.
"We developed this program so that each person can customize it to their own needs," said Kate Lorig, professor emeritus and director of the Stanford Patient Education Research Center, in a media release.
The Better Choices, Better Health program is primarily online, available to anyone with an internet connection, but in some regions for the study there are in-person group sessions. In greater Atlanta, where BCBS Georgia is recruiting members, weekly 2.5 hour workshops will be held for six weeks at local YMCAs.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia and other insurers and health organizations are recruiting diabetic patients to enroll in the free program, as part of a study led by the National Council on Aging to determine if it can be widely expanded -- as the national burden of diabetes approaches $250 billion and affects more than 8 percent of Americans.
Especially with Type 2 diabetes increasing in prevalence among young people, BCBS Georgia wants "to make sure people with Type 2 diabetes have the skills and the support to lead the healthiest lives they can," the insurer's president, Morgan Kendrick, said in a media release.
"This program may make a difference to people in managing their blood sugar, maintaining their independence and in gaining support in knowing they are not alone."
After a series of large scale chronic illness management studies, Stanford researchers developed what largely became the Better Choices, Better Health program in the mid-2000s, and in a 2007 study found some promising results.
Among 760 diabetics who shared their blood sugar tests and answered questions on their healthcare utilization, those using the Stanford workshop showed greater blood sugar control and self-efficacy after 18 months, compared to those diabetics without any type of intervention.
The current study is trying to gauge just how useful and practical it would be to extend the online program to diabetics on a large scale. The National Council of Aging is funding the study, with grants from the BlueCross and BlueShield of Georgia Foundation and the Bristol-Meyers Squibb Foundation.