In our last blog, Why Prioritizing Minority Health is a Smart Business Move, we discussed how addressing diabetes and chronic illness is critical for minority employees, and for the success of your business. But what exactly are the best ways to address diabetes? Diabetes care can be costly, so you want to make sure the services available to your employees are affordable, as well as effective. So what methods of diabetes prevention, management and treatment will be cost-effective for your business? The answer to this is personalized nutrition therapy. Personalized nutrition therapy is one of the best ways to manage diabetes in minority populations. Luckily, this is the kind of therapy that Yumlish provides in a virtual format, which is even more attractive to patients during these pandemic times. Keep reading to find out the reasons why our personalized nutrition therapy saves costs for your business!
Managing Diabetes
The costs of managing diabetes, no matter what kind of intervention is used, may seem expensive up front. However, the cost of treating diabetes is less in comparison to the cost of leaving it untreated. Diabetes management requires lifestyle changes, controlling blood glucose levels, usually medications, and consulting physicians on a regular basis. Thus, when it is not managed, the costs of diabetes complications highly increase.
The total costs of diabetes in 2017 were $317 billion. The estimated cost of direct medical expenses was $237 billion, and reduced productivity was worth roughly $90 billion. Indirect costs due to early mortality and loss of work from diabetes and its comorbidities were valued at $20 billion and $38 billion, respectively. Unmanaged diabetes costs the nation almost $60 billion dollars, not including the actual medical costs of its complications. Therefore, you are saving your business money by ensuring that your employees are in control of their health through diabetes prevention and treatment programs such as those provided by Yumlish.
Nutrition Therapy
Nutrition therapy is a very cost effective way to manage diabetes. Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) is associated with a reduced utilization of hospital and physician services, which are direct costs of diabetes care. The Institute of Medicine discovered and presented to the US Congress, that individualized MNT, provided by a registered dietitian with a physician referral, [should] be a covered Medicare benefit as part of the multidisciplinary approach to diabetes care.”
MNT services for populations over the age of 55 are speculated to save more money that is spent in providing MNT. However, usage is low, as it is not often covered by employers, or private health insurance. Therefore, it is highly recommended to increase coverage for services of this kind, in order to benefit both the patient and business.
Personalization
Yumlish saves your business from the economic burden of diabetes by providing patients with personalized nutrition therapy. Diabetes management must be personalized to effectively meet the individual needs of each patient. Therapies become feasible and sustainable when culture, gender, religion, health beliefs, and other unique aspects of a patients’ life, are taken into consideration. One study reports that the patient’s willingness to participate in lifestyle changes increases with personalization, while another states that the provision of culturally relevant, personalized nutrition therapy is critical for the management of diabetes among low SES women in pregnancy.
Virtual Format
Other challenges of diabetes management include physical access to nutrition therapy. Finding the time to travel to see a dietitian is not always an option for people with busy schedules and families to look after. The novel COVID-19 pandemic adds another complication to in-person health services. Luckily, Yumlish offers personalized nutrition therapy through a mobile app. Research shows that patients “desire interventions with less person-to person contact” and that “technology-based programs represent an alternative approach to minimize in-person interactions.”
The Yumlish app provides excellent nutrition and lifestyle advice from registered dietitians. Additionally, it offers virtual connections with other patients with diabetes for support. In this way, your employees are more likely to continually manage their diabetes, which saves you costs in the long run.
Choose Yumlish
So, what are you waiting for? Start creating pathways to lower costs and improve the quality of life of your workforce with Yumlish. Take action now and learn more about how we personalize treatments with our registered dietitians and motivate our patients to make sustainable dietary changes that lead to positive health outcomes.