Craig Brammer
Director,
Cincinnati AF4Q

MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORT

Diabetes Footprints Campaign
Launched to Transform Diabetes
Care in Cincinnati

This is the first of ongoing monthly reports that I will be sending to keep you updated on the progress and accomplishments of Cincinnati Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q), a signature effort of the Health Improvement Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve local health outcomes.

My intention is to update you on one major initiative or area of focus each month. For a more complete summary of AF4Q's first year of work, I encourage you to read our 2008 Report to the Community.

DIABETES FOOTPRINTS CAMPAIGN

AF4Q recently launched the Diabetes Footprints Campaign, a groundbreaking initiative to help Greater Cincinnatians with diabetes improve the care they receive from their doctor and better manage their own health.
The campaign is not about how to manage a disease. There are plenty of programs geared toward that. This is about how to recognize high quality health care. Ten years ago it was common to hear physicians complain about "cookbook" medicine, but today most primary care physicians accept that there are proven, science-based guidelines for certain chronic conditions, including diabetes.

We just recently completed other research of consumers in Cincinnati that shows:

  • 2 in 3 people with diabetes do not know what their recommended cholesterol level should be
  • 1 in 5 people with diabetes have never heard of an A1C test, a standard test to check average blood sugar levels
  • More than 40% of people with diabetes have not had the recommended eye and foot exams

Consumer Engagement: One Part of the Solution

The Diabetes Footprints Campaign is educating consumers about indicators of high quality care. Our goal is to get educational materials into the hands of 100,000 Greater Cincinnatians with type II diabetes by the end of 2009. The Campaign also makes these standards of care available through its website www.diabetesfootprints.org as well as a toolkit of materials designed to facilitate communication between patients and their doctors.

The centerpiece of the Campaign is a "Success with Diabetes" brochure that provides to people with type II diabetes:

  • A checklist to use for a doctor visit (including a list of American Diabetes Association tests that should be part of regular office visits, a simple explanation of each test, what the test result should be, and how often the test is typically needed)
  • A self-care checklist to use at home

Results to Date

More than 50 local health care and community organizations have come on board so far as Diabetes Footprints Campaign partners — area health plans such as Humana and Aetna and health care provider organizations such as the Mercy Health Partners Certified Diabetes Education program. Through vehicles such as TriHealth's Corporate Health program, the message will also reach major employers such as General Electric and The City of Cincinnati.

The campaign launched in November 2008. To date:

  • More than 30 partners received the toolkit and have distributed the information to approximately 25,000 people with diabetes.
  • More than 350 people visited the campaign website in the first month, where resources such as downloadable doctor-visit and self-care checklists, a Certified Diabetes Educators contact list, and a list of physician practices working with AF4Q to improve diabetes care are available.
  • 13 media outlets have published articles about the launch of the campaign and the website.
  • Survey results of patients who indicated they received the brochure show...
    • 100% (44 respondents) answered "yes" that they now know the ADA has specific recommendations about self-care steps they should follow and that the ADA recommends specific medical tests and exams their doctor should routinely do.
    • Greater than 95% said that the brochure helped them to know what tests and exams they need to receive from their doctor.
The Big Picture

I sometimes get asked how the other 14 AF4Q regions are approaching this mammoth goal of improving the care of chronic disease. In Greater Cincinnati, we decided early on to limit our focus to one condition — diabetes — and to apply our learnings in that area to other conditions in future years. Some regions have taken a similar approach, while others are tackling numerous conditions from the start.

As AF4Q begins its second year of work, there is inspiring and exciting progress occurring on various fronts, thanks to the broad-based support and involvement from more than 150 stakeholders throughout the region. Thanks as always for your partnership in this journey.

Craig Brammer