In the previous assignment, I discussed client M.N, a 46-year-old African American male diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Quality and safety are key aspects of diabetes care, which significantly determine patient outcomes. Cost is a major barrier in accessing health services and also determine patient outcomes. This essay aims to discuss the effect of Type 2 Diabetes on the quality of care, patient safety, and costs to the system and individual.
How Type 2 Diabetes Impacts the Quality of Care, Patient Safety, and Costs to the System and Individual
Type 2 Diabetes significantly impacts the quality of care provided to patients since health providers must provide aggressive and top-notch care to prevent the development of diabetes-related complications. Furthermore, health providers have to be alert to identify symptoms of low or very high blood glucose in diabetic patients (Nikitara et al., 2019). There has been a growing demand to enhance the quality of care for diabetes to more comprehensive health care that addresses the physical, social, and emotional challenges attributed to the condition (Nikitara et al., 2019). Health professionals are recommended to promote patient participation in decision-making regarding their care.
A report by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) reveals an estimated overall diabetes cost of $327 billion in 2017, with $237 billion used in direct medical costs and $90 billion in reduced productivity. The largest components of diabetes costs include hospital inpatient care and prescription treatments to treat complications, which account for 30% of the total medical cost each (ADA, 2018). Other components include antidiabetic agents and diabetes supplies, which account for 15%, and physician office visits at 13%. Diabetic patients incur an average medical cost of $16,752 annually, of which approximately $9,601 is used in diabetes care (ADA, 2018). On average, diabetic patients have medical costs roughly 2.3 times higher than what medical costs would be in the absence of diabetes.
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