CDC reports rise in doc visits by diabetes patients
By HME News Staff
Updated Thu July 31, 2014
ATLANTA - Office-based physician visits made by diabetes patients rose 20% between 2005 and 2010, according to a new data brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The largest increase in visits (34%) was made by adults in their mid-20s to mid-40s, according to the new brief.
“Continuing to examine office-based physician visits by patients with diabetes is especially important given changes in standards of care that may influence such visits,” said Jill Ashman, a physician at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, in the brief.
The total number of visits was higher among older adults—those 65 and older made 53.7 million visits in 2010, while those younger than 25 made 2.6 million visits, according to the brief.
Visits by patients with diabetes made up 11% of all office-based physician visits in 2010.
Researchers say regardless of age, patients with diabetes use “extensive health resources,” with frequent doctor visits and multiple prescriptions, the brief states.
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