Table 3.
Solutions for Patient Education, Engagement, and Empowerment
| Key Solutions for Patient Education, Engagement, and Empowerment | |
|---|---|
| Information | Marketing/awareness campaign regarding prediabetes and T2DM and CVD risk |
| Develop different ways to reach patients identified with prediabetes or who are at risk for DM; providing them the right information at the right time | |
| Tools for patient conversations with healthcare providers/systems | |
| Curated sources of valid patient/community resources | |
| Develop simple and culturally tailored and sensitive messaging from a trusted source that can be shared broadly across multiple organizations | |
| Meet patients where they are through community‐based solutions | |
| Cost and reimbursement information available at point of care, discussion of lifetime costs of noncompliance | |
| Amputation‐prevention information in providers’ offices | |
| Youth‐based activities | School education, health technology, and games to increase engagement around cardiometabolic conditions |
| Teaching through lifespan, starting with children and young adults, patient‐focused awareness, and tools to support | |
| Support school‐based strategy to promote physical activity and healthy eating that promotes cardiometabolic health and prevents obesity | |
| School‐based strategies that incorporate the family to reinforce healthy habits at home | |
| Involve the family | Develop family‐based solutions that include each family member (decision makers, cook, grocery shopper, and children) |
| Screen patients and their family for multiple cardiometabolic diseases | |
| Systems‐based solutions | Codify prediabetes screening/prevention in EHRs |
| Embed patient/provider discussion tools and scripts in EHRs | |
| Share best practices | Facilitate successful multidisciplinary care models that include liaisons, healthcare providers, and community health workers |
| Knowing that every market has different needs, provide online platform to consolidate multiple solutions (toolkit or repository) for local/community‐based resources | |
| Highlight creative approaches in programming such as innovative incentives (ie, free manicures and pedicures, Uber credits for healthcare provider visits) | |
| Research | Involve patients in research; special focus to include minority and underserved populations |
| Develop a better understanding of what motivates patients for behavior change and adherence, how to meet people where they are, and how to create more effective education on DM | |
| Better understanding of patient incentives, motivators, and demotivators | |
| Develop more community worker resources | |
| Provider training and education | Create educational curriculum and training tools for all healthcare providers (eg, physicians, nurses, physician assistants, DM educators) on behavior change, motivational interviewing, shared decision‐making, and listening to their patients |
| Develop talking points and educational resources for providers on out‐of‐pocket costs for long‐term DM care | |
| Better equip and position healthcare providers to counsel on behavior change techniques from a family‐focused vs individual approach, and provide simple pathways for referral to other members of the team with this expertise | |
| Encourage providers to ask about diet, activity, and social determinants of health, and provide skill development with small, attainable goals | |
| Provide more training on team approaches to care | |
| Partnerships | Bolster patient support groups across professional societies |
| Better engage and incorporate the “patient” voice in professional and advocacy organizations | |
| Support expansion of wellness programs in workplaces, communities, and other locations | |
| Elevate existing strength of DSMES programs to combat lack of funding and support | |
| Collaborate with vascular specialists regarding microvascular/podiatry issues | |
| Work with insurance companies to invest in prevention | |
| Advocacy | Drive incremental shifts in culture to create healthier environments and mindsets, learning lessons from incremental decreases in sodium, marketing tactics that shift perceptions (eg, light vs low sodium) |
| Advocate for covered benefits for counseling/services beyond the “medical box” with a focus on employers; this requires investment in making clear case for return on investment | |
| Encourage organizations to develop a better relationship with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services | |
| Advocate for innovative Medicaid‐focused programs in “Stroke Belt” states | |
| Technology | Seek expansion and better utilization of telehealth |
| Provide a central repository for communities that address underserved populations and needs | |
| Create technology‐based programs (using social media, gamification, mobile technology) to educate patients (eg, during downtime for a PCP visit, emergency department waiting room) using the principles of prevention, personalization, and precision | |
CVD indicates cardiovascular disease; DM, diabetes mellitus; DSMES, Diabetes Self‐Care Management Education and Support; EHR, electronic health records; PCP, primary care provider; T2DM, type 2 diabetes mellitus.