By hooking up the 78,000 healthcare providers who use athenahealth’s health IT products with the 1,500 locations participating in the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program, it’s hoped to slow the progression of diabetes in the 86 million Americans diagnosed as pre-diabetic and save lives and billions of dollars in the process.
The idea is that, instead of referring their patients to a specialist, physicians will “refer” their pre-diabetic patients to the YMCA’s one-year program which helps people make small and sustainable lifestyle changes which can lower their risk developing diabetes.
“If we get clinical integration, with medical providers referring their patients to the Y, we can increase enrollment in the program by 40 percent,” Dr. Matt Longjohn, YMCA national health officer, said in an interview.
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