The American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) created a very informative Infographic on the costs of diabetes in our healthcare system. Some of the facts are summarized in the post. More details are in the Infographic.
Diabetic foot complications are common and costly for patients. In the US, 25% of diabetics will develop foot ulcers, which costs $15 billion annually.
With, Diabetics expenses to the healthcare system are $245 billion overall composed of direct medical costs of $176 billion and indirect medical costs of $69 billion.
For every $1 a patient invests in Podiatric care, there is $27-$51 in savings for the health-care system among those with commercial insurance. Meanwhile, in Medicare patients, each one dollar results in $9-$13 of savings.
Include a podiatrist in your health care team. This can reduce amputation by 80% as well as save $3.5 billion for the healthcare system.