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Program Overview

The City of Colorado Springs joined the Diabetes Ten City Challenge in mid-2006 after learning about the opportunity from the Colorado Business Group on Health. More than 6,900 City employees, dependents and retirees in the city’s health plan who were eligible to participate were invited to register for the program. The City also participates in the Bridges to Excellence program, sponsored by the Colorado Business Group on Health. Through Bridges to Excellence, the City rewards medical providers who demonstrate they deliver quality medical care toward the prevention of diabetes and the health of participants.

Program Facts

1. As of July 2009, 353 members were eligible for the DTCC and 174 (49.29%) are participating
2. Participants meet with a pharmacist from the City Employee Pharmacy (run by Maxor) who has been specially trained and certified in diabetes care by the APhA Foundation
3. To protect patient confidentiality, the program is managed by the City Employee Pharmacy and the City of Colorado Springs does not know the identities of participants unless they choose to share that information
4. In order for members to receive the waived co-pays on diabetes and monitoring supplies and medication, they must participate in the Diabetes Ten City Challenge or prove their diabetes is under control

Program Details

Success in controlling diabetes is based on clinical assessments including improvement in A1C (blood glucose level) concentrations, increases in the number of participants with weight and exercise goals, increased patient satisfaction with pharmacy services and decreased costs of medical care.   

Summary of Year 1 Results (Based on 62 patients who met inclusion criteria):

1. Improvement in key clinical indicators; A1C has trended down with the number of patients with an A1C goal of <7 increasing from 55% to 68%
2. Participant satisfaction with overall diabetes care has improved and satisfaction with pharmacist care is very high
3. Participant economic data indicates total health care costs for the City were reduced annually by $1,234 per participant in the evaluation group ($8,881 projected costs versus $7,647 as a result of participation in the DTCC) and an annual savings of $372 per patient as a result of the waived copays for diabetes medications and supplies

Pharmacist Role

1. Potential participants are identified by the City Employee Pharmacy and invited to enroll in the program
2. A pharmacist specially trained in diabetes care sees individuals by appointment at the City of Colorado Springs Pharmacy
3. In the confidential meetings, pharmacists educate participants about diabetes and track their condition and compliance with obtaining cholesterol tests, blood pressure checks, foot exams, and eye exams

About the City of Colorado Springs

Population in 2009: 414,658
Municipal Employees covered by City Medical Insurance: 2,388
Municipal Retirees covered by City Medical insurance: 247

Relevant Statistics

According to the American Diabetes Association:

1. The total cost of diabetes for people in Colorado in 2006 was more than $2.5 billion. This amount included the excess medical costs of $1.6 billion attributed to diabetes and lost productivity valued at more than $900 million.
2. One out of every 10 health care dollars spent in the United States is spent on diabetes and its complications
3. Per capita annual costs of health care for people with diabetes was $13,242 in 2002, an increase of 30 percent from 1997.

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment:  

1. Approximately 220,867 Coloradans have diabetes and another 92,764 have the disease and aren’t aware that they do
2. More than 2,400 Coloradans dies from diabetes-related causes in 2007
3. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes in Colorado has increased by about 50% since 1994

According to the National Institutes of Health:

1. 23.6 million people - 7.8 percent of the U.S. population – have diabetes.
2. 17.9 million people have been diagnosed and 5.7 million have not.
3. 1.6 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older in 2007.
4. Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death listed on U.S. death certificates in 2006.

Quotable Quotes

Mark Cauthen, Risk Supervisor for the City of Colorado’s Risk Management Department:
 “"As a self-insured employer, we want to offer our employees, dependents, and retirees more than a competitively priced, quality health care benefit plan; we want to offer them the choice of a healthy lifestyle."

Tammy Lopez, PharmD, Pharmacist Network Coordinator and Consultant Pharmacist:
 “This program provides a great benefit in that education is individualized for each patient, which provides them knowledge to improve their quality of life and help prevent complications associated with their condition.”

National Media Contacts:

Caren Kagan Evans
President and CEO
301-309-8487
caren@ecicommunications.com

Local Media Contact:

Sue Skiffington-Blumberg
Communications Manager
719-385-5254 
blumberg@springsgov.com