Finding Employees With Undiagnosed Diabetes

Purpose: Implement a confidential and low cost method to identify employees with undiagnosed diabetes. Methods: Blood samples from fasting plasma glucose measurements obtained by a third party vendor from the annual employee health risk assessment data were re-run at a cut-point of 117 mg/dL or greater to obtain a hemoglobin A1c (A1c) value. Individual letters were sent from the third party vendor to employees with a HbA1c value of 5.7% or greater informing them of an employee diabetes management program. Results: 1611 of 3044 (53%) employees participated in the annual health risk assessment; 87 employees demonstrated a fasting plasma glucose >= 117 mg/dL; 27 employees had a A1c of 5.7-6.3%; and 16 employees had an A1c >= 6.5%; 9 employees volunteered to participant in the diabetes management program. The employer spent a total of $ 783 to find 16 employees with undiagnosed diabetes and 27 employees with undiagnosed pre-diabetes. Conclusion: The process used by this employer maintained confidentiality and was considered a low cost means of finding employees with undiagnosed diabetes.