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Characteristics and Delivery of Diabetes Shared Medical Appointments in North Carolina.

Drake C, Kirk JK, Buse JB, Edelman D, Shea CM, Spratt S, Young LA, Kahkoska AR. Characteristics and Delivery of Diabetes Shared Medical Appointments in North Carolina. North Carolina Medical Journal. 2019 Sep 1; 80(5):261-268.

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Abstract:

Successful diabetes care requires patient engagement and health self-management. Diabetes shared medical appointments (SMAs) are an evidence-based approach that enables peer support, diabetes group education, and medication management to improve outcomes. The purpose of this study is to learn how diabetes SMAs are being delivered in North Carolina, including the characteristics of diabetes SMAs across the state. Twelve health systems in the state of North Carolina were contacted to explore clinical workflow and intervention characteristics with a member of the SMA care delivery team. Surveys were used to assess intervention characteristics and delivery. Diabetes SMAs were offered in 10 clinics in 5 of the 12 health systems contacted with considerable heterogeneity across sites. The majority of SMAs were open cohorts (80%), offered monthly (60%) for 1.5 hours (60%). SMAs included a mean of 7.5 ± 3.4 patients with a maximum of 11.2 ± 2.7 patients. Survey data revealed barriers (cost-sharing and provider buy-in) to, and facilitators (leadership support and clinical champions) of, clinical adoption and sustained implementation. External validity is limited due to the small sample size and geographic clustering. There is significant heterogeneity in the delivery and characteristics of diabetes SMAs in North Carolina with only modest uptake across the health systems. Further research to determine best practices and effectiveness in diverse, real-world clinical settings is required to inform implementation and dissemination efforts.




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