To secure buy-in and backing for a National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle-change program, a Mississippi health system made use of a time-tested method: meeting with physicians one on one, face to face.
Hattiesburg Clinic launched their lifestyle-change program in 2018 after conducting in-person visits with more than 50 physicians to raise awareness about the program and patient referral process. In the first year, dozens of patients with prediabetes enrolled in the program, with nearly 60% of participants coming from physician referrals.
The AMA’s Diabetes Prevention Guide supports physicians and health care organizations in defining and implementing evidence-based diabetes prevention strategies. This comprehensive and customized approach helps clinical practices and health care organizations identify patients with prediabetes and manage the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, including referring patients at risk to a National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) lifestyle-change program based on their individual needs.
Linda Gwaltney—a registered dietitian and the diabetes education program director at Hattiesburg Clinic—developed a diabetes prevention strategy that included offering a lifestyle-change program for their patient population. The clinic received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which allowed the first 50 registrants to attend the lifestyle-change program at no charge.
Here is how Hattiesburg got physicians onboard with lifestyle-change programs for type 2 diabetes prevention.
Meet with physicians
Gwaltney conducted in-person visits with physicians to raise awareness for the National DPP lifestyle- change program at Hattiesburg Clinic. During her visits, she explained how the program helps patients make sustainable behavior changes.
Mississippi has one of the highest rates of diabetes diagnoses—25,000 in Hattiesburg alone—so it didn’t take long for physicians to engage and assist in the program. Not only were physicians referring their patients to the lifestyle change program, but they also conducted check-ins during patient office visits for those enrolled.
This helped improve patient engagement and maintain a 90% retention rate for the program. Gwaltney believes the retention rate can also be attributed to the lifestyle-change program being conducted in a clinical setting.
“The physician endorsement was huge, but the continued physician engagement was equally important,” said Gwaltney.
Create a leadership group
To ensure patients received appropriate support, Gwaltney created a diabetes prevention steering group that included several physicians and team leads. This group evaluated the clinical and behavioral outcomes of the program’s participants. It also tracked outcomes related to the lifestyle change program’s referral and enrollment rates.
The steering group frequently contacts physicians and care teams about the lifestyle-change program. Even months after their initial conversation with Gwaltney, the physician champions continued to spread awareness about diabetes prevention and the National DPP lifestyle-change program at meetings, hospital grand rounds and other informal venues.
With the help of the steering group, Gwaltney has “received invaluable advice and lessons” from the members. For example, one group member told her that “you need to make [physician engagement] in-person, you need to make it repetitive and you need to amplify whatever you do.”
“And that, for the past year and a half, has become my mantra,” Gwaltney said.
