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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Amidst the wrangling over a health care reform solution, many Americans are still trying to come to terms with the sticker shock of reform’s hefty price tag—which, unfortunately, may only serve as a Band-Aid for this bleeding topic. However, lost in the media mix and debate of the issues is the price tag of a well-known term not brought up often enough: “prevention.” As a doctor of podiatric medicine and President of the American Podiatric Medical Association, I know all too well how important prevention is—priceless. Daily, my colleagues and I are on the front lines of diabetes management. Nothing could be more tragic than telling a patient he or she will have to lose a toe, a foot or even a leg to diabetes—when it could have been prevented.
The fact is that providing better preventative care for epidemics like diabetes could help save our broken health care system billions of dollars every year. Diabetes is not only devastating on the body—it also hits the American health care system hard in the wallet, with direct and indirect costs reaching nearly $200 billion per year. Eight percent of the U.S. population—nearly 24 million people—are currently battling diabetes. Treating the disease and its many complications requires a complete management team—one part of which is a podiatric physician—to attend to the necessary foot care those with diabetes require. Sadly, diabetic complications are frequently seen by a medical professional only after the sole treatment option is amputation of a toe, foot or lower limb.
Where does this neglect stem from? Many of our nation’s health care problems have evolved from a general lack of education. Studies have shown that simply creating greater public awareness of diabetic foot care could positively affect our health care system. According to an article published in the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association (JAPMA), comprehensive amputation prevention programs can reduce amputation rates from diabetic complications by as much as 70 percent. Detecting diabetic foot ulcers early and staving off tragic foot and leg amputations benefits more than just the individual whose foot or leg is spared. The entirety of amputation costs avoided with prevention—including actual procedural costs, necessary hospital stay and follow-up care—can save our health care system up to $8 billion each year. Complications from diabetes—including diabetic ulcers and amputations—are preventable, but only with the help of a diabetes management team, which includes a podiatrist, vascular surgeon and primary care physician.
While many things in life tend to ebb and flow, the rate at which those who develop debilitating health conditions like diabetes will only continue to rise exponentially without an immediate intervention. Current statistics show that nearly six million Americans have diabetes and are not aware of their disease. Something must be done to encourage both those with diabetes and those at risk to seek out critical preventative care that will save their limbs and their life—and greatly ease America’s monetary strain. I urge our lawmakers to make diabetes prevention—and preventative care for all major health conditions—a top-level priority in the health care reform debate. If our nation’s health care reform plan includes stipulations ensuring Americans access to greater amounts of prevention, the short-term payoff may not be seen overnight. The long-term successes, however, will be monumental.
Dr. Ronald D. Jensen is a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and President of the American Podiatric Medical Association. He resides and practices in Modesto, California.
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