Fit4D, the New York–based developer of a Web-based diabetes coaching program, said a pilot program it created with Healthfirst has been expanded and will now be offered to all health plan members with poorly controlled diabetes.

The companies last year launched a pilot program that focused on helping high-risk members lower A1c levels, which are tested to measure blood-sugar levels in diabetes patients and to better understand how a patient’s overall treatment is working. They had received funding from the New York City Economic Development Corp., which awarded a total of $1 million in 2014 to 11 health start-ups testing new technologies in healthcare settings as part of Pilot Health Tech NYC.  

Lowering A1c levels can help patients reduce complications such as blindness and neuropathy associated with the disease. Doing this can also help lower costs, with one estimate saying a one-point reduction in A1c levels can produce $1,192 in annual savings for a Medicare enrollee.

The pilot program enrolled 300 patients when it launched last year, but the expansion of the program is expected to boost the number of Healthfirst members who have access to Fit4D. Healthfirst, a managed-care organization in New York, has about one million members, according to its website.

 

“Our collaboration with Fit4D enables us to deliver an innovative and scalable program to help our members with diabetes and provide value-based services to our providers,” Dr. Susan Beane, Healthfirst’s medical director, said in a news release. 

Fit4D CEO David Weingard said in an email that the number of Healthfirst members who will be offered access to the program is confidential.