Disease management has been studied to validate its effectiveness. Ofman et al¹, performed a meta-analysis of 102 papers written between January 1987 and June 2001 to evaluate the effect of disease management in a variety of conditions. In carefully designed studies there was evidence that disease management improves the quality of care, with greatest improvements in the areas of patient satisfaction, patient adherence to treatment recommendations, disease control and provider adherence to guidelines.

Recent studies of disease management in diabetes (Villagra, Sidorov^2,3) have confirmed these findings with improvements in appropriate testing, HbA1c control and reductions in hospitalizations. Wheeler et al, evaluating heart disease management in women over 60 was able to show a 46% decrease in inpatient days for the treatment group.

¹Ofman JJ, Badamgarav E, et al. Does disease management improve clinical and economic outcomes in patients with chronic disease? A systematic review. Am J Med. 2004 Aug 1;117(3):182-92.

²Victor G Villagra, Tamim Ahmed. Effectiveness Of A Disease Management Program For Patients With Diabetes. Health Affairs. Chevy Chase: Jul/Aug 2004. Vol. 23, Iss. 4; pg. 255.

³Jaan Sidorov, MD, FACP, CMCE, et al. Does Diabetes Disease Management Save Money and Improve Outcomes? Diabetes Care, Vol 25, No 4, April 2002.