Programs offered to Hawaii Medical Service Association members for diabetes and cardiac care have been reviewed and approved by faculty of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Medical reviewers OK
HMSA health programsStar-Bulletin staff
About 40,000 HMSA members are in the Diabetes Care Connection Program and more than 18,000 are in the Cardiac Care Connection Program.
The programs are provided by American Healthways Inc., in a partnership with HMSA. A leading provider of disease management programs nationally, American Healthways submitted them to the Health Care Advisory Board of the Johns Hopkins Outcomes Verification Program for review.
The verification program was initiated last year to independently evaluate and verify the effectiveness of various types of intervention programs and their clinical and financial results.
American Healthways was the first to submit its programs for comprehensive review by research faculty from the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Nursing and the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The diabetes and cardiac care programs "are touching the lives and improving the health of so many HMSA members in our community," said HMSA Senior Vice President Cliff Cisco.
"We are very pleased they have earned this clinical validation and national recognition," Cisco said.