Improving Diabetes Self-Management Education in Michigan Primary Care Practices

Objective: 1) To increase the number of referrals to Diabetes Self Management Education (DSME) programs by 50% over baseline for 12 primary care practices in a pilot project.  2) To demonstrate consistent reporting on 6 clinical indicators by 75% of the pilot practices.

Methods: Michigan is one of seven states participating in the national quality improvement project, Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP).  Partners are the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program (DPCP), Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH); the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and the Automobile Industry Action Group (AIAG).  AIAG provides industry-based quality improvement coaches who consult with primary care practices on Six Sigma/Lean processes and quality improvement methods to respond to the need to engage more patients in diabetes self-management activities. IPIP participating practices attended two learning collaborative sessions which included presentations on DSME theory and programs.  The DPCP provided DSME manuals, maps and technical assistance to practices, including a needs assessment survey to identify how to better facilitate referrals to DSME.  Other DPCP assistance included integrating patient and staff education materials into a practice toolkit.

Results: The 12 pilot practices are improving patient access by resolving DSME referral barriers.  The DPCP expanded web-based resources for the IPIP practices to include resources on DSME and staff education.  A third collaborative session planned for 2010 will address DSME models in certified hospital programs and community settings. 

Conclusion: The DPCP partners with primary care practices to enhance DSME access and quality through learning collaboratives, resolution of referral barriers, and provision of DSME resources.