Rethinking Your Population Health Strategy: New research on prediabetes testing and intervention

Identification of health risks is a key element in improving population health. A recent study featured in Diabetes Care shows that testing for hemoglobin A1c is a more effective way to assess type 2 diabetes risk than focusing on fasting glucose alone. The study found that elevated hemoglobin A1c is associated with incident diabetes among individuals with normal fasting glucose measures, meaning that only testing for fasting glucose can put your population’s health at risk, missing those that have prediabetes. With effective identification, future high-cost claimants, including those with prediabetes today, can be connected to a health intervention program like a digital diabetes prevention program, which can ultimately reduce their risk for type 2 diabetes by 32%.