Healthcare study confirms role of intensive care

A new study published in the June issue of Health Services Research indicates that spending money on improving diabetes care at community health centres is paying off. A team of researchers at the University of Chicago found that the cost of improving healthcare at clinics had made a huge difference in just four years.
The team indicated that the relatively low cost of improving care at national clinics could reduce the lifetime risk of patients developing blindness, end-stage kidney disease, and coronary artery disease, all of which are common complications of diabetes.
The author of the study, Elbert Huang, an assistant professor of medicine at University of Chicago, reportedly commented: “In this setting, we found that the economic value of improving the delivery of existing diabetes care was roughly equal to the benefits of developing a new treatment, such as a novel diagnostic technology or a better drug. A small investment in upgrading the delivery of health care brought about a substantial improvement in health that justified the costs of the program.”