WVU Medicine to Deploy Virtual Diabetes Care App for Employees

West Virginia University Health System, or WVU Medicine, is partnering with digital health company Virta Health to offer its virtual diabetes treatment to eligible employees in the state.

With this partnership, the health system — which is the largest private employer in West Virginia — is aiming to improve type 2 diabetes outcomes measures and possibly help patients reach a point of remission where they are not on any diabetes medications, a health system spokesperson said in an email.

WVU Medicine selected Virta Health as a partner in this endeavor "after researching their process and confirming their success in improving diabetic outcomes with other organizations that have engaged with them," the spokesperson said.

Virta Health provides an application that enables patients to interact with clinicians and health coaches who offer personalized dietary recommendations and support while also monitoring biomarkers throughout the treatment for type 2 diabetes. In addition, the clinicians cut down on medications when appropriate.

"Virta Health's treatment combines personalized nutrition and advanced telehealth technology to help patients reverse diabetes," a Virta Health spokesperson said in an email. "This approach helps patients restore blood sugar to normal levels while eliminating the need for diabetes medications."

The virtual, remote care program "drives adherence, retention, and transformative diabetes outcomes, even with rural and other hard-to-reach populations," the spokesperson said.

The company has published research that examines the efficacy of its approach. One study, published in the journal Diabetes Therapy in 2018, shows that implementation of Virta's care model resulted in improved glycosylated hemoglobin levels (A1c) and weight, as well as reduced diabetes medication use, in a group of 349 adults with type 2 diabetes.

Virta's app-based treatment is now available at no additional cost to all eligible WVU Medicine employees who have opted into employer-sponsored insurance plans.

WVU Medicine will measure success of the diabetes care program by assessing health improvements among participants, including reductions in A1c levels, fewer medication prescriptions, and weight loss.

"As part of that, Virta practices a unique value-based care model and puts 100 percent of fees at risk," said the WVU Medicine spokesperson. "Under the arrangement, WVU Medicine only pays for successful health outcomes tied to diabetes reversal metrics, in line with the employer's larger strategy around value-based care."

In 2020, about 15.7 percent of all West Virginians had been diagnosed with diabetes, the highest proportion of any U.S. state, according to America's Health Rankings.

This chronic condition proves to be costly for the state. West Virginia spends approximately $2.5 billion on health costs related to diabetes and prediabetes each year, data gathered by the American Diabetes Foundation shows.

"Type 2 diabetes is one of the biggest health issues facing West Virginians — and our employees are no exception," said Michael Edmond, MD, chief medical officer at WVU Medicine, in the news release. "Our partnership with Virta is a key stepping stone toward ending this epidemic and one that we hope creates a ripple effect to spread diabetes reversal across the state."

Virtual care programs powered by telehealth and remote monitoring are increasingly being used to treat chronic conditions as evidence backing their use grows.