Healthcare PR:
Diabetes is an often-undiagnosed, but serious, disease affecting 8.0% of Americans, according to the American Diabetes Association. They estimate that as many as 5.7 million people currently suffer from diabetes without being diagnosed, who are therefore unaware of their problem and treatment options. In honor of last week's World Diabetes Day, American Diabetes Month (November), and their ongoing support of the National Diabetes Goal, www.PatientAssistance.com continues to reach out to their audience of predominantly uninsured and under-insured Americans with a survey designed to make them aware of their diabetes risk.
"Our survey results have so far shown that around 70% of our visitors are uninsured," says Rex Bowden, Director at PatienceAssistance.com, Inc. "This group of Americans is especially important to reach when it comes to diabetes diagnosis and prevention for a few reasons. First, they may be more at risk of suffering from undiagnosed diabetes, because they visit doctors less often due to lack of insurance. This group would also heavily benefit from preventative measures if they're at risk for the disease, as prevention can be a much more cost-effective option than treatment through insulin and medications which may be required for years or the rest of the patient's life."
The National Diabetes Goal is designed to reduce the number of new cases of type 2 diabetes by encouraging at-risk individuals to get tested to learn their blood glucose level and any preventative actions they should take. By 2015, the organization and partners aim to reach a goal of having 45% of Americans at risk for diabetes learn their blood glucose levels.
"Our survey at PatientAssistance.com is giving us real insight into how this problem affects the uninsured," says Bowden. "For example, we know that only 60% have even been tested, and less than half actually know their glucose level. We're hoping that this survey and increased awareness around American Diabetes Month will help to lead to an increase in these statistics."
A positive element of the survey results to-date revolves around awareness about diabetes prevention. Most survey respondents know that diet and exercise can contribute to preventing or delaying the onset of diabetes. "The next step," according to Bowden "is to make sure more at-risk people know it, so they can begin taking action. It's one thing to know what someone should do to prevent diabetes. It's equally important to know that 'someone' could be you."
Patient Assistance is a National Diabetes Goal Champion, one of more than 20 organizations that pledged to raise awareness about diabetes among Americans, and turn that awareness into action.
About PatientAssistance.com:
PatientAssistance.com is a nonprofit organization providing information on thousands of patient assistance programs to help users better manage, and reduce, prescription drug costs. Users can search by medication or for specific patient assistance programs, which are updated on a regular basis. The site offers patients a variety of tools including local drug pricing information, the ability to track programs the user is currently enrolled in, and reminders when patients need to resubmit enrollment forms to the pharmaceutical manufacturers. PatientAssistance.com helps consumers find patient assistance programs, supply enrollment forms, and track their re-enrollments all in one place.
For more information about the National Diabetes Goal, please visit www.NationalDiabetesGoal.com.
For more information about PatientAssistance.com or to take part in the diabetes awareness and prevention survey, please visit www.PatientAssistance.com, or contact Rex Bowden at 225-266-7941.
