Disease Management

Chronically ill patients currently consume a significant share of the U.S. health system's resources and are a rapidly growing segment of the overall population. Disease Management (DM) programs identify high-risk patients among the chronically ill, encourage them to take better care of themselves, and help coordinate the care they receive from various providers. This paper examines the impact of a diabetes Disease Management program. We find evidence that the program led to increased compliance with clinical practice guidelines, improvements in patient health, and significant reductions in the total cost of care. We also find that these benefits are greater for patients lacking "self control" as indicated by their failure to comply with generally accepted Clinical Practice Guidelines prior to enrollment