Background: Diabetes Care Network (DCN) is a collaborative care pathway that uses a team approach via telehealth to modernize diabetes care delivery and scale the endocrine expertise for complex diabetic patients. Methods: We studied the efficacy and sustainability of our approach to improving diabetes care over 12 months among 101 Veterans with poorly controlled Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) (A1c>9%) identified from the electronic database. Among all enrolled Veterans, 87 (86.1%) were followed for 12 months. We assessed consultation completion via E-consult and protocol-based continuity care collaboration with primary care liaisons. Means (SD), frequencies, and percentages are presented, and Spearman correlations were assessed. Statistical significance set at p<0.05. Results: The cohort (N=87) was 97.7% male, 90.8% white, had a mean age 67.2 (8.9), and an average of 3.3 comorbidities, 0.7 macro-, and 1.3 microvascular complications. Initial care delivered via E-consult within 2.6(1.7) days with weekly follow-up telephonic team meetings. Collaborative care in the study cohort (N=87) allowed for therapy optimization and/or escalation with the initiation of metformin in 9 (10.3%), SGLT-2-I in 6 (6.8%), DPP-4I in 8 (9.1%), insulin U500 in 8 (9.1%), GLP-1A agents in 25 (28.7%), any insulin in 12 (13.7%), discontinuation of metformin in 9 (10.3%) and oral sulfonylurea in 17 (19.5%) Veterans. Of the 24 (27%) non-insulin users at enrollment, 12 Veterans initiated insulin therapy by 12 months. A1C declined significantly from the baseline A1C of 10.2% (1.4), to 8.1% (0.99) at 3 months, 7.6% (0.96) at 6 months, and 7.5 % (0.86) at 12 months (all p<.0001). At 3, 6, 12 months, number of patients who achieved HBA1c <8 % were 38 (43.6%), 56 (64%), and 56 (64%), and number of patients who achieved HBA1c <7% were 10 (11.4%), 21 (24.1%), and 23 (26.4%), respectively. Non-statistically significant improvements were noted in Weight {229.3lbs (48.1) to 228.4lbs (46.9)}, LDL {89.0mg/dl (36.4) to 79.5mg/dl (32.5)}, systolic BP {130.5mmHg (16.1) to 123.9mmHg (17.5)}, and triglycerides {226.9 mg/dl (195.3) to 159.3 (97.4)}. Compared to the 12 months pre-enrollment period, no difference in healthcare utilization (ER visits or admissions) was noted in the post-enrollment period. From baseline to completion, only nonsignificant improvements were noted in secondary preventative therapy for the use of antiplatelet agents, ACE-I/ARB, moderate to high-intensity statins and, the frequency of urine microalbumin tests, and annual foot/ retinal exams. Conclusions : With the DCN approach, we show that using telehealth technologies and collaborative partnerships, endocrine expertise can successfully be scaled to address the shortage of endocrinologists and help attain improved diabetes control. Such pathways will alleviate the large burden on primary care and address primary care inertia with timely therapy optimizations. Unless otherwise noted, all ...

The national epidemic of diabetes and the exposure of Vietnam veterans to Agent Orange has led to insulin resistance requiring concentrated insulin (U-500 regular [U-500R] insulin) for glycemic control. Initiation of U-500R insulin is limited to endocrinology expertise housed at "hub" Veterans Health Administration locations hours away from smaller "spoke" facilities. To overcome potential health care disparities and improve patient safety, a program was developed ensuring that all clinicians could co-manage U-500R insulin. This program evaluation was undertaken to improve patient safety and access to U-500R insulin by improving spoke clinicians' knowledge of safe delivery and management of U-500R insulin.

Diabetes Care Network is a telemedicine based collaborative care pathway with team-based approach to improve diabetes care and scale the endocrine expertise. Veterans with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes were identified from electronic database, consultation completed via E-consult, and continuity care collaborated with primary care liaisons. We studied the efficacy and sustainability of our approach in improving diabetes care over 12 months. Methods: Means (+/-SD), frequencies and percentages were presented, and Spearman correlations were assessed. Statistical significance set at p&lt;0.05. Cohort (n=87) was predominantly white (90.8%) males (97.7%), with a mean age 67.2 (8.9), and had an average of 3.3 co-morbid conditions, 0.7 macro and 1.3 micro-vascular complications. Significant decline in A1C occurred from baseline A1C of 10.2% (1.4), to 8.1% (0.99) at 3 months, 7.6% (0.96) at 6 months, and 7.5 % (0.86) at 12 months (all p&lt;0.0001). Proportion of patients out of 87 who achieved A1C of &lt;8 were 38 (43.6%), 56 (64%), and 56 (64%) and those who achieved A1C &lt;7 were 10 (11.4%), 21(24.1%), and 23 (26.4%) at 3, 6, and 12 months respectively. Non-significant improvements were noted in Weight {229.3 lbs (48.1) to 228.4 lbs (46.9)}, LDL {89.0 mg/dl (36.4) to 79.5 mg/dl (32.5)}, systolic BP {130.5 mmHg (16.1) to 123.9 mmHg (17.5)}, and triglycerides {226.9 mg/dl (195.3) to 159.3 (97.4)}. Compared to 12 months pre-enrollment period, no difference in healthcare utilization (ER visits or admissions) was noted in study period. From baseline to completion, non-significant improvement was noted in the use of anti-platelet agents, ACE/ARB, moderate to high-intensity statins and, in the frequency of Urine micro albumin measurements, annual foot and retinal exams. Conclusion: A paradigm shift in diabetes care delivery is urgently needed. Use of telehealth technologies based collaborative pathways can scale the endocrine expertise and help attain better care for diabetic patients. Disclosure A. Bandi: None. M.J. Larson: None. S.J. Lutz-McCain: None. A.M. Summerville: None. B.K. Lumley: Employee; Spouse/Partner; Quest Diagnostics. M.Y. Boudreaux-Kelly: None.

Clinical inertia is the failure to initiate or intensify treatment in a timely manner in people with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in primary care (PC) where collaborative care can be an approach to overcome inertia. Diabetes care network (DCN) is a telehealth based collaborative care model to address clinical inertia in the PC environment. In DCN, initial care was delivered via E-Consult by hub diabetes team for Veterans with A1c of 9% or higher and the longitudinal collaborative care delivered by PC liaison with weekly team huddle. To study the difference in the clinical outcomes with DCN vs. PC practices, we compared the DCN cohort (97.7% male, 90.8% white, with a mean age 67.2 (8.9), with a PC cohort (100% male, 94.9% white, mean age: 68 year (10.5), with A1C &gt;9%). Methods: Means (SD), frequencies and percentages were presented. The DCN cohort had a significant decline in the baseline A1C of 10.2% (1.4), to 8.1% (0.99), 7.6% (0.96), 7.5 % (0.86) at 3, 6, and 12 months while A1c in PC cohort stayed poor with baseline A1C of 10.1% (0.89), to 10.2% (1.69), 9.7% (1.74) and, 9.5% (1.83) at 3, 6, and 12 months. Patients who achieved A1c less than 8% in DCN cohort were 38 (43.6%), 56 (64%), and 56 (64%) at 3, 6, and 12 months and were 1(1.7%), 5(8.5%), and 6(10.2%) at 3, 6, and 12 months in PC cohort. An A1c of less than 7% was achieved in DCN cohort in 10 (11.4%), 21 (24.1%), and 23 (26.4%) patients at 3, 6, and 12 months and only 1(1.7%), 0(0%), and 0(0%) patients achieved A1c less than 7% at 3, 6, and 12 months in PC cohort. Our study shows participation in the DCN telehealth program for 1 year was associated with significant improvement in A1c. This improvement was not seen within the PC with traditional care practices. Thus, addressing clinical inertia in PC will need a paradigm shift in current practices. The proposed collaborative approach of DCN can overcome clinical inertia in PC and improve care for people with T2D by supporting PC access to specialty care expertise, decreasing the burden of diabetes care for patients and PC providers. Disclosure K. Clark: None. M. J. Larson: None. S. J. Lutz-McCain: None. A. Bandi: None.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of a novel approach to provide diabetes specialty team care to rural patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) on clinical outcomes and processes of care. Methods: Diabetes Care Network (DCN) provides Veterans with T2DM and elevated A1C an initial 6-week period of remote self-management education and support and medication management by a centrally located team of diabetes specialists. Participants are then comanaged by remote liaisons embedded in rural primary care facilities for the remainder of the 12-month intervention. In this pre-post intervention study, 87 Veterans enrolled in DCN from 2 different clinical sites had baseline and 12-month postenrollment A1C, systolic blood pressure, weight, and LDL cholesterol levels collected and compared using paired t tests. Results: Participants were mostly male and White with elevated baseline A1C. Participants from both sites had significant improvement in A1C over the 12-month intervention period compared to an increase in the 12 months prior to enrollment. There were also significant improvements in LDL and systolic blood pressure at 1 site, with no significant change in weight at either site. Conclusions: DCN participants had significant improvement in A1C after not meeting similar goals previously in a robust primary care setting. A technology-enabled collaborative partnership between centrally located diabetes care teams and local liaisons is a feasible approach to enhance access to diabetes specialty care for rural populations.