PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 299 - 10 Feb 2001 Early success with US employerdeveloped DM programmes A US manufacturing company’s forays into selfdeveloped disease management (DM) programmes illustrate recent predictions of growth in employer interest in DM,* reports Disease Management News. Using existing staff physicians and a nurse educator, Caterpillar Inc., US, launched pilot programmes internally for diabetes mellitus and heart disease in early 2000, according to the company’s health-promotion manager, Beverlee Gilmore. And already, the success of the programmes is evident, Ms Gilmore comments. In an assessment of the pilot programmes’ effects on clinical outcomes and costs, employees or their spouses with diabetes (n = 100) or heart disease (100) were compared with matched 500-member nonparticipant cohorts. In the diabetes programme, there has been a 12–14% improvement in patients meeting standards of care based on American Diabetes Association recommendations. Patients enrolled in the heart disease programme have shown gains averaging 8–11% in markers such as aspirin and β-blocker use, exercise, diet, smoking cessation and bodyweight control. Meaningful cost data will not be available until the middle of this year, comments Ms Gilmore. Caterpillar hopes to expand their self-developed DM programmes into arthritis, asthma and depression in late 2001, she adds. * see PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 298: 5, 3 Feb 2001; 800817461 Caterpillar’s new diabetes, cardiac programs show employers’ thrust. Disease 800817462 Management News 6: 1 & 6, 25 Dec 2000

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 10 Feb 2001 No. 299

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