Private MD News

New program makes diabetes testing more efficient

Category: General Health

Diabetes can be a daunting disease to control, but a new program offers information and testing for individuals at risk of developing the illness.

The program, called Diabetes Know Now, offers individuals who think they may be at risk of developing the disease a 17 question risk assessment at its website. Those who are found to be at a high risk of the disease based on their answers are offered an at-home testing kit.

Roy Bubbs, president of Hooper Holmes, the company launching the program, said that the greater level of efficiency in testing offered by the program would help to identify the millions of Americans who have pre-diabetic symptoms.

"Prior to the program there was not an effective and efficient way to target diabetes screenings," he said. "Now, instead of having to complete blood tests on an entire population, we can improve the efficiency."

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 2.5 percent of the total population has undiagnosed diabetes.