OAKLAND, Calif., May 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Archimedes, a Kaiser Permanente innovation, is part of an exciting launch of a ground-breaking preventative-health tool--one that will allow individuals to predict their risk of getting diabetes or its complications.
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Launched in close partnership with the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes PHD (Personal Health Decisions) is driven by the Archimedes Model. This online, interactive tool provides instant, highly accurate health profiles for people with, or at risk of developing diabetes. It can be accessed at no cost by the general public through the ADA’s web site at www.diabetes.org/diabetesphd, and by Kaiser Permanente members at http://kaiserpermanente.org/diabetes .
Diabetes PHD provides a clear picture of how each individual can change his or her risk of getting diabetes or its complications by addressing certain health parameters. This tool will help both patients and their health care providers achieve a better understanding of the health risks associated with diabetes, to help them make informed choices to minimize those risks.
The Diabetes PHD online intake form requests individuals’ health data in many areas -- such as age, race, weight, medications, blood pressure and family history -- and produces realistic and personal health-risk projections that are far more accurate than any previous health model. Additionally, users can adjust input to see how modifications in their diet or exercise will affect their risk of developing Diabetes.
Researchers and scientists at Kaiser Permanente have been developing the Archimedes Model for nearly a decade. The Archimedes Model creates a virtual world that can simulate and “experiment” with different interventions and/or different assumptions, either individual or in combination, and explore the effects on all the important health, logistic or economic outcomes.
About Archimedes:
Archimedes, a Kaiser Permanente Innovation, uses a life-like, mathematical simulation model to create a virtual world to help health care organizations make critical clinical and administrative decisions. The model has been repeatedly tested and validated and can be relied upon to answer complex, real world questions. For background information on the Archimedes Model, go to www.archimedesmodel.com.
Kaiser Permanente is America’s leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program headquartered in Oakland, Calif. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of about 8.3 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Permanente Medical Groups. Nationwide, Kaiser Permanente includes approximately 141,000 technical, administrative and clerical employees and over 11,000 physicians representing all specialties. www.kaiserpermanente.org.
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CONTACT: Alexandra Matisoff-Li, Kaiser Permanente, National MediaRelations, +1-510-271-5624, or alexandra.matisoff-li@kp.org; or Diane M.Tuncer, American Diabetes Association, National Communications,+1-703-299-5510, or dtuncer@diabetes.org