As diabetes has become more prevalent, healthcare dollars have also reflected the trend.
In 2012, an estimated $245 billion was spent on diagnosed diabetes, according to a report released in Diabetes Care by the American Diabetes Association. That breaks down to $176 billion in direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity.
Hospital inpatient care accounted for 43 percent of the total medical cost, followed by prescription medications to treat diabetes complications (18 percent), antidiabetic agents and diabetes supplies (12 percent), physician office visits (9 percent), and nursing/residential facility stays (8 percent), according to the report.
"Increased prevalence, not increased cost per patient, is the driving force behind the increased economic burden of diabetes," a Diabetes Care article reads. "Our continued improvement in diabetes care with progressive reductions in chronic complications of myocardial infarction, stroke, renal failure, and amputation reduces the per patient costs of the single greatest contributor to diabetes costs: hospitalizations."
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