Identifying Employees with Undiagnosed Diabetes for Participation in a Pharmacist-run Worksite Wellness Program

Purpose: Undiagnosed diabetes is a prevalent and costly health condition for employers.  The purpose of this project is to describe a procedure used to identify employees with undiagnosed diabetes and describe the process by which these employees are recruited to participate in a pharmacist-run worksite diabetes risk reduction program.

Methods: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) measurements were obtained for any employee participating in the company sponsored health risk assessment with a fasting glucose value of ≥117mg/dL.  Information regarding participation in the worksite diabetes risk reduction program was sent directly to any employee with a HbA1c ≥ 5.7%.

Results: A fasting glucose ≥117mg/dL was demonstrated in 87 of 1611 (5.4%) employees who participated in the health assessment.  Of the 87 HbA1c measurements obtained, 27 employees were found to have undiagnosed pre-diabetes (HbA1c 5.7-6.4%) and 16 employees were found to have undiagnosed diabetes (HbA1c ≥6.5%).  Worksite diabetes risk reduction program information was confidentially mailed to any employee with a HbA1c level ≥5.7%.  As a result of the letter, nine employees volunteered to participate in the program.  The cost to run an additional HbA1c was $9.00 per test.  The employer spent $783.00 to identify 16 previously undiagnosed employees with diabetes or $48.94 per employee with undiagnosed diabetes.

Conclusions: Using a procedure to identify employees with undiagnosed diabetes and pre-diabetes and promoting participation in a diabetes risk reduction program may improve employee health and quality of life while also saving money.  A fasting glucose ≥117mg/dL and HbA1c of ≥5.7% proved to be successful in identifying and recruiting such employees to enroll in the pharmacist-run worksite program.