Diabetes Care Link

The Diabetes Care Link (DCL) program is intended to improve the quality of care for patients with diabetes. Physicians who demonstrate they are top performers in diabetes care can earn up to $100 for each diabetic patient covered by a participating employer.  Participating employers fund these incentives from the savings they achieve through lower health care costs and increased employee productivity that results from delivery of higher quality diabetes care.  Therefore, DCL is a win-win-win situation for physicians, employers and patients.

Check out the Diabetes Care Analysis - Savings Estimate (PDF).

NCQA Diabetes Care Performance Assessment Program

To obtain the rewards available through the BTE DCL reward program, eligible physicians must demonstrate that they provide high levels of diabetes care by passing NCQA's diabetes performance assessment program. For 3-year recognition from NCQA's Diabetes Physician Recognition Program (DPRP), physicians submit data on HbA1c, blood pressure, and lipid testing, as well as data on eye, foot, and nephropathy exams for their diabetes patients.

What is NCQA's performance assessment program?

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is the leading independent organization providing information that allows employers and consumers of health care to distinguish among health plans and physicians based on quality of care. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and NCQA have developed the Diabetes Physician Recognition Program (DPRP) to assess physician performance in the care of patients with diabetes, and to recognize those physicians who demonstrate a high level of performance. To achieve DPRP Recognition, physicians submit data on outcome and process measures for a sample of their patients with diabetes.

Does obtaining recognition improve the quality of health care?

Yes, as seen in DPRP historical results, BTE believes that if physicians 1) know what processes and outcomes are essential, and 2) collect data on what they do and are able to review aggregate data from their patient population, care will improve.

For DPRP applicants from 1997 to 2003:

• The average rate of diabetes patients who had Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels of less than 7 percent increased from 25 percent to 46 percent, an indication that more adults with diabetes are maintaining proper HbA1c control. HbA1c is a measure of average blood sugar over the previous three months.
• The rate of diabetes patients who had controlled low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol below 100 mg/dl rose from 17 percent to 45 percent.
• The rate of diabetes patients monitored for kidney disease rose from 60 percent to 85 percent. Data source: NCQA

How will the public know which physicians have obtained recognition?

All BTE rewards-eligible practices and physicians who obtain recognition with NCQA's Diabetes Physician Recognition Program (DPRP) will be promoted as recognized practices and physicians through NCQA's Recognized Physician Directory. Additionally, BTE will list DPRP-recognized physicians on the HealthGrades' Physician Quality Ratings website. To identify physicians in your area who demonstrate a high level of performance in providing care, go to one of these two directories.

What measures will be used to determine eligibility for recognition?

Three-year DPRP recognition from ADA/NCQA requires submission of process and outcomes measures from a sample of a physician's diabetes patients. For specific clinical measures, visit NCQA. 

Additional Information on and Applying for DPRP Recognition

For additional information on DPRP visit, NCQA.

*Please note that some of this information such as reward amounts could be specific to a region. For market specifics, go to your local BTE region page.