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SBI Healthcare Estimates Future Medical Expenses for Diabetes Patients. Visualization of medical cost reduction effect by changing HbA1c value
- September 11, 2023
Medical Data Vision Co., Ltd. (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Hiroyuki Iwasaki; hereinafter referred to as “MDV”), which provides the largest medical database in Japan, and SBI Healthcare Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Yoshikage Kozano; hereinafter referred to as “SBI Healthcare”), which provides support services to prevent the aggravation of diabetes, are announcing a cooperation to estimate future medical costs based on changes in HbA1c (hemoglobin A1C) value*, which indicates the state of diabetes progression.
* HbA1c value is a test value that shows how much of the pigment hemoglobin in red blood cells is bound to sugar.
Diabetes is a disease in which the amount of sugar called glucose (blood sugar) that flows through the blood increases because insulin, which is produced by the pancreas and keeps blood sugar within a certain range, does not work adequately. If the blood sugar level continues to be low, the HbA1c value will be low, and conversely, if the blood sugar level is high, the HbA1c value will be high. If the concentration of blood sugar (blood sugar level) remains high for many years, blood vessels will be damaged, leading to future chronic complications of diabetes such as heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and leg amputation, which will also increase medical costs.
Estimation of future medical expenses for diabetes patients, based on about 3 million people with blood test values
SBI Healthcare will utilize data on approximately 3 million people with blood test values out of the 44.72 million actual patients recorded in MDV Database (as of the end of August 2023) to identify patients who have been continuously tracked for at least seven years. We estimated future medical costs for diabetic patients based on changes in HbA1c values and trends in medical costs.
SBI Healthcare provides services to health insurance associations as customers that encourage preventive measures for members who are at high risk of developing severe diabetes. Now, it is possible to calculate the expected reduction in future medical costs based on the changes in HbA1c values before and after the provision of diabetes aggravation prevention support services, and it is also possible to meet the needs of health insurance associations that want to verify cost-effectiveness.
By further refining future medical cost estimates, SBI Healthcare and MDV will support the strengthening of health insurance unions’ functions as insurers, helping to improve the health of patients in Japan and reduce medical costs.
SBI Healthcare Website