From the Chairman: Retail-Based Clinicians: Armed with the Knowledge and Data to Fight Chronic Disease

Because of its affordability and accessibility, the retail-based clinic is starting to replace the primary care physician for many Americans. As a result, the nurse practitioners and physician assistants who staff these clinics are providing treatment for more than just acute conditions. Chronic conditions such as asthma, high blood pressure, and diabetes are now being treated in the retail clinic. With nearly 29 million individuals living with diabetes in the United States, many Americans will visit a retail clinic for treatment of their disease. At Intellisphere, we are committed to providing research and information the retail health care providers can utilize to help attack this global health care crisis.

WithContemporary Clinic, our newest publication, we are providing the latest clinical updates on focused therapeutic areas as they relate to providing patient care in the convenient care setting. As an entrepreneur, I want to call your attention to the newest section in the journal: “Business Focus: Build Your Practice.” In this issue, we provide important information on the ICD-9 to ICD-10 transition. You may be wondering what this has to do with diabetes, and I can sum it up for you in one word: data.

The newest update to the International Classification of Diseases will provide for more specific codes and aid health care providers in following epidemics, such as the Ebola outbreak, to help establish a common language across all networks. Patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes need to ensure that all aspects of care are met, and therefore, a collaborative care model is not only beneficial, it is necessary to treat the disease. A common language is a necessary component to this model.

We are not alone in thinking that data are essential. Recently, CVS Health announced that it is partnering with IBM to use supercomputer Watson to aid in chronic disease management by providing more data on patients “to identify subtle signals of disease progression that allow us to intervene in a more timely fashion and prevent poor outcomes.” CVS Health isn’t the only one interested in capitalizing on more data to improve patient outcomes with diabetes. Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi recently partnered with Google to harness the power of Google’s electronics and analytics capabilities to collect and analyze data like blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin levels.

As we make this transition and start to harness data more effectively, the way we look at treating patients will evolve. As the leading provider in health care education, we will be providing our readers with information every step of the way.

Thanks for reading!

Mike Hennessy

Chairman and CEO