Annual HbA1C Test Disparity among Health Insurance Schemes in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

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Sawaeng Watcharathanakij
Aporn Jaturapattarawong

Abstract



Introduction: Provision of quality medical care to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) could help them control symptoms and delay diabetic complications.  One essential medical care service is annual glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) test since it indicates how well diabetes is under controlled.  However, disparity of this service among health insurance schemes may exist.  The objectives of this study were to measure the proportion of T2DM patients who were annually tested for HbA1C and to identify factors associated with HbA1C annual test. Materials and Method: In this cross sectional study, T2DM patients were identified with ICD10 code (E11X) from electronic health records (EHRs) in 2011 from one 120 beds community hospital.  HbA1C test results were also retrieved from the same EHRs.  Inpatient medical records were excluded from this study.  Proportion of patients with different health insurance scheme who received annual HbA1C test was analyzed by descriptive statistics.  Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with annual HbA1C test provided.  Results: Of 2,656 T2DM patients identified, the proportion of patients who received annual HbA1C test was 45.29% in 2011.  Statistical significant association between gender and receiving annual HbA1C test was observed.  Male was less likely to receive HbA1C test than female (OR=0.77, 95% CI = 0.65-0.91, p<0.05).  Patients who paid out of pocket or were under universal coverage scheme were less likely to receive annual HbA1C test than those under civil servant benefit scheme or direct reimbursement (OR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.20-0.61, OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.51-0.82 respectively, all p<0.05).  T2DM patients with comorbidities were likely to receive annual HbA1C test than those without comorbidity (OR = 3.95, 95% CI = 2.99-5.20, p<0.05).  Conclusion: Different access to annual HbA1C test among gender, health insurance schemes and comorbidities exists.  Healthcare provider team should be reminded to assure that all T2DM patients receive at least one annual HbA1C test.



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Research Articles

References

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