Score Card shows area diabetics in better control of disease

WASHINGTONIANS WITH DIABETES are making dramatic improvements in their control of the disease. That’s one of the results of the 2005 Premera Quality Score Card, a collaborative effort between Premera Blue Cross and doctors to share information and improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care.

The Score Card, available at www.premera.com, rates clinics using 19 variables such as how many patients undergo preventive screenings and the use of generic versus brand-name drugs.

This was the third year that data was collected and the first time the Score Card included not just how often patients are treated using the best method available, but also the result of that care on patients’ health.

Diabetic patients were tracked on how well they controlled their cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

Among the results:

•Slightly more than 51 percent of diabetic patients had well-controlled hemoglobin A1c, or blood sugar, levels, nearly doubling 2004’s performance.

•Almost 42 percent had cholesterol levels below 100, improving last year’s performance by more than half.

•Nearly 39 percent had well-controlled blood pressure, improving last year’s performance by almost half.

That’s good news because for every 1 percent drop in A1c levels, a diabetic’s risk of blindness, kidney failure and other vascular complications reduces 40 percent, according to Premera.

And patients with well-controlled cholesterol have 20 to 50 percent fewer strokes, heart disease and other cardiovascular problems.

Premera spokesman Scott Forslund gives a lot of credit for the improvements to the Washington State Diabetes Collaborative, a six-year-old effort by doctors to improve the way they treat diabetic patients.

The Score Card showed improved care for other patients, as well as a reduction in the cost of health care. At one clinic, the rate at which infants were getting well-child visits grew 34 percent between 2005 and 2004. At another clinic, the prescribing of generic drugs versus brand-name ones grew 14 percent.

Three of the 12 clinics that participated in the 2005 Score Card are in Spokane: Rockwood Clinic, Physicians Clinic of Spokane and Columbia Medical Associates. The participating clinics reach about one-third of Premera’s Washington members.

Poison helpline available

When it comes to holiday eating, fruitcake isn’t the only hazard.

So far this Christmas season, at least nine children have eaten holiday decorations and gift wrap, 17 have tasted candles or lamp oil, 34 consumed plants and 30 drank perfume or cologne, two common holiday gifts, according to the Washington Poison Center.

“It’s amazing that they eat what they do,” said Kerri Booth, the center’s education coordinator.

While most of those items don’t pose a poisoning risk, they can be choking hazards. And other dangers lurk during the holidays.

For example, you visit the home of friends without children and, because their house hasn’t been childproofed, your toddler swallows a small ornament or rummages through the cupboard with their cleaning supplies.

Maybe your child decides to explore your guestroom, where Grandma is staying, and the little one can’t resist the pretty-colored pills your mom left on the nightstand.

Booth encouraged people to call the poison center when they have concerns.

“Oftentimes they call 911 when they really should be calling us,” she said.

People should call 911, though, if someone can’t breath, can’t be woken up, is having a seizure or is clearly having some other medical emergency, she said.

The phone number for poisoning concerns is the same in any state: (800) 222-1222. Whether you’re in Washington or Wisconsin, your call is directed to a local help center.

Grieving during the holidays

Hospice of Spokane offers tips for coping with sadness when the rest of the world seems consumed by joy:

•Decide to keep your regular traditions or plan something entirely different. Just remember that your choice is temporary and you can change your activities next year.

•Accept help. Ask friends to shop for or with you or do the cooking, if you choose.

•Light a candle, display a flower or create a special holiday decoration in memory of your loved one. Offer a dinner prayer, meditation or toast to them.

•Do an activity your loved one enjoyed to bring joy to others, such as caroling or serving meals to the homeless.

•And give yourself and others permission to remember happy times with that person.

Pharmacist honored

The Spokane Pharmacists Association named Brenda Bray 2005’s community pharmacist of the year.

Bray is a clinical assistant professor of pharmacotherapy at Washington State University’s Spokane campus. She was recognized for bringing real-world experiences to her students and for her work as an on-call pharmacist for Group Health Cooperative and Shriners Hospital for Children.