Lilly to Support Education Screening Tools for Diabetic Microvascular Complications

Inoveon, EyeTel Programs are Designed to Evaluate People with Diabetes

01-Aug-2002

As part of an ongoing effort to improve care for people with diabetic microvascular complications - including diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to severe vision loss and blindness - Eli Lilly and Company is working with two companies that have developed new eye screening and evaluation tools for people with diabetes.

Diabetic retinopathy is an important diabetic microvascular complication that often occurs without symptoms. If left untreated, it can lead to severe vision loss and blindness. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among working age adults in industrialized countries. Because of the importance of early detection, Lilly is supporting patient awareness, physician education and technologies that are designed to improve care for people with diabetes. Lilly is committed to ensuring that people with diabetic microvascular complications, like diabetic retinopathy and diabetic peripheral neuropathy, are diagnosed and seek treatment.

Two companies - Invent, based in Oklahoma City, and Eyelet Imaging, based in Fairfax County, Va. - have developed innovative tools to evaluate and screen for diabetic eye disorders that could produce referrals to ophthalmologists for further examination and, if necessary, treatment. Lilly, a long-time leader in diabetes care, is working with these companies because their technologies could lead to more evaluations for people with diabetic eye disorders. Because people with diabetes should have their eyes screened at least once annually, these tools should provide convenience for patients as well as health care professionals so that high-risk patients who are currently not being screened can be identified . The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 150 million people around the world have diabetes - including 17 million alone in the United States. The WHO predicts that the prevalence of diabetes will double to 300 million by 2025. Approximately one of every two people with diabetes will have some form of diabetic retinopathy.

"Lilly’s dedication to diabetes care dates back to 1923 when we became the first company to provide insulin to people with diabetes," said Elizabeth Klimes, president of diabetes care at Lilly. "Our support of these tools developed by Inoveon and EyeTel are natural extensions of the way that we have supported health care professionals and patients for nearly 80 years."

"Unfortunately, despite the improved treatments for diabetes, millions of people continue to suffer from eye disorders, including diabetic retinopathy," Klimes said. "Anything Lilly and its partners can do to help patients - including convenient access to screenings - is an important part of our mission."

The projects undertaken by Inoveon and EyeTel are designed to provide tools and education for physicians and patients in the diabetes care treatment package. The Inoveon tool is used by primary care physicians and endocrinologists to evaluate patients and, when appropriate, refer patients to ophthalmologists for evaluation and treatment. The EyeTel device is used by primary care physicians to perform automated screenings and, when appropriate, refer patients to ophthalmologists.

The programs are designed to increase screening rates through state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and tools. "It is desirable to significantly increase the number of people with diabetic eye disease that are seen by an ophthalmologist and receive appropriate treatment," said Morton Goldberg, M.D., chairman of ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins University and a consultant to EyeTel. "We want no patient to fall through the cracks."

According to Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS) information, only 49 percent of people with diabetes in the United States receive necessary eye exams as recommended by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. HEDIS data are used by the National Committee for Quality Assurance regarding patient quality of care.

Awareness and screening are among the biggest barriers to appropriate diagnosis and treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Recently released findings from an international patient survey conducted by the Lions Clubs International Foundation and the International Diabetes Federation-Europe demonstrate that people with diabetes are not as concerned as they should be about diabetic microvascular complications like diabetic retinopathy and often are resigned to suffering from these complications.

In the same survey - released last month at the American Diabetes Association meeting in San Francisco - blindness ranked as the top concern among people with diabetes.

"Access to screenings for diabetic eye complications helps people with diabetes and health care professionals who treat diabetes," said Scott Storms of the Lions Clubs International Foundation executive committee. "Because a major concern for our organization is halting preventable blindness, we support increased numbers of screenings for the millions of people with diabetes."

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