Seven million reasons to love IDEAS

The latest review of the Integrated Diabetes Education and Assessment Service (IDEAS) has revealed the service has potentially saved an incredible $7 million in acute health care costs in the Eastern Metropolitan Region over the past three years.

By reducing the frequency and length of hospital visits for people with type 2 diabetes, IDEAS has helped to lower costs and improve the sustainability of the local health system by optimising the use of available systems and resources.

Since 2017, IDEAS has helped around 1,500 people with type 2 diabetes to prevent and manage complications associated with the condition. The service provides practical education and support to empower participants in managing their health and wellbeing for the long term.

By providing effective, integrated, multi-disciplinary team-based care, IDEAS has improved a range of clinical health outcomes for clients with diabetes. These include reduced average HbA1c (blood glucose) levels, lower rates of diabetes distress, and promising results in weight reduction.

Along with the ongoing benefits to clients’ health, the latest review has also revealed very high levels of positive experience from both clients and clinicians participating in the service.

“We are thrilled that the vast majority of IDEAS participants reported a positive experience with the service, from both a client and clinician perspective. I’m really proud of the whole team, across multiple community health services, for providing exceptional community-based care that has improved outcomes for clients and resulted in an impressive cost saving for the local health system.” – Carina Martin, General Manager Partnerships and Service Development.

Developed by healthAbility in partnership with Eastern Health’s Endocrinology Department, the IDEAS expansion has been supported by the Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network (EMPHN). The service has expanded to now include four community health services across six sites and three outpatient departments.

IDEAS is staffed by a specialist team of Eastern Health Endocrinologists, Diabetes Nurse Educators, Community Health Nurses and Podiatrists who work together to help people with type 2 diabetes to effectively manage their condition in a community health setting.

To find out more about IDEAS click here