Program Offers Free Education and Support for Patients with Diabetes
Patients with newly diagnosed or uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes benefit from tailored support to manage their disease, and primary care physicians often don’t have the resources to provide it. That’s why Adventist HealthCare Physician Alliance offers diabetes management support. Based on certain criteria, patients can receive individualized, one-on-one diabetes education— at no cost to them or their practice.
Who can participate in diabetes management support?
To be eligible, a patient must be attributed to a Physician Alliance value-based contract and meet one of the following criteria:
- Have a pre-diabetes diagnosis
- Be newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes
- Have poor A1C control (>8.0%)
What does individualized diabetes support look like?
Patients complete an average of 6-12 visits with Laura Previte, RN, certified diabetes educator, in person or via video conference. Laura evaluates their understanding of diabetes management, identifies knowledge gaps, and works with each patient to create a tailored education and support plan.
Patients are educated on a variety of topics, including:
- The pathophysiology of diabetes
- How to monitor blood glucose
- How diabetes medications work
- How to interpret diabetes-related lab results
- Nutrition, including the importance of balancing proteins and carbohydrates
- Lifestyle changes that can improve blood glucose control
- Preventing and managing acute complications of diabetes
- Problem-solving and strategizing when challenges arise
Laura works closely with the referring physicians and their care navigators to ensure patients’ clinical and social needs are also being met.
One physician’s experience
Adrian Dyer, MD, a family medicine physician with Adventist Medical Group, applauds Laura for her work with his patients.
“Even if I had enough time to help these patients, I would still send them to Laura because she knows much more than I do about diabetes management,” Dr. Dyer says. “She goes above and beyond to help my patients and always treats them with kindness. I notice that the people in this program improve their diet adherence and are more responsible about monitoring their blood glucose. I think they feel more accountable after talking with her.”
Why does the Physician Alliance offer this resource to physician members?
This goal of this program is to empower patients to better manage their diabetes. Working with Laura, patients develop the skills and confidence necessary to achieve better glucose control through diet and exercise, use their medications correctly, and lower their risk of diabetes-related complications.
Improvements in diabetes self-management result in a lower economic burden, not just for the patient but for the healthcare system. In 2022, 95% of practices participating in our value-based contracts achieved the 80th percentile for patients with optimal diabetes control. The remaining 5% of practices achieved the 50th percentile.
How to Refer a Patient
Physician Alliance providers can refer patients through their care navigators or email Laura with patient information, reason for referral, and most recent A1C.
