First-of-its-Kind Program Addresses Growing Need for Improved Diabetes Care
Calling All Hospitals
ARLINGTON, Va. (August 9, 2023) – Today, the American Diabetes Association® (ADA) announced a new partnership with The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog focused on health care safety, to launch the first-ever national designation program that will recognize hospitals demonstrating a strong commitment to the safety and well-being of inpatients who are living with diabetes.
“Studies show that patients with diabetes often face heightened risks of serious health complications when visiting hospitals. That is especially true for patients of color, who face additional barriers to care,” says Robert Gabbay, MD, chief scientific and medical officer for the ADA. “There is an immense need to ensure hospitals provide safe, patient-centered care for all people who live with diabetes.”
The new designation program, named Recognized Leader in Caring for People Living with Diabetes, will help identify hospitals that lead the nation in dedication to people living with diabetes. The program operationalizes the ADA’s expertise and its Standards of Care in Diabetes—2023 for the treatment of patients with diabetes, along with Leapfrog’s experience in rating and designating hospitals based on their performance on national quality and safety measures. Recognized Leader in Caring for People Living with Diabetes will evaluate hospitals based on their care for patients with diabetes during admission, stay, and discharge.
“This program will be a game-changer for families, which is why it is so important to our constituency of employers and purchasers of health care benefits who recognize the special vulnerability of hospitalized people living with diabetes,” Leah Binder, Leapfrog president and chief executive officer said. “They will help employers alert employees and their families who receive this recognition.”
People with diabetes can face major health risks while visiting a hospital, with studies suggesting that more than 200,000 people die every year from preventable errors, accidents, or infections. The estimated 40% of hospitalized people living with diabetes face increased safety risks including amputation and other complications like coma and death if mistakes are made in their daily care. Black and Indigenous people are twice as likely and Latinos are 50% more likely to undergo amputation than non-Hispanic white Americans.
During a hospital stay, people living with diabetes require care coordination that starts at admission and continues through to their discharge. During admission, hospitals need to evaluate a person’s blood glucose (blood sugar), diet, and devices. Throughout the stay, hospitals should provide diabetes experts and additional monitoring. Serious health complications arise when people do not receive continued blood glucose monitoring and timely administration of insulin and other medications. After discharge, hospitals should coordinate follow-up care to ensure people with diabetes are able to manage their post-stay care.
Hospitals interested in applying can sign up now to get information on the new national standards and application process once available in September.