Chevy Chase, MD— The Diabetes Working Group (DWG), a coalition of diabetes-related organizations including The Endocrine Society, recently conducted the largest survey of its kind of providers of diabetes care. Today, the group released a white paper (http://www.endo-society.org/upload/20120123-DWG-White-Paper.pdf) with recommendations to break down barriers providers cite in delivering care to diabetic patients.

The analysis found that the three most frequent barriers to care raised by providers were: time with patients, inadequate reimbursement and patient adherence. In response, the DWG recommended three major issues that need to be addressed to deal with these barriers: payment reform, care management and workforce supply.

Specific recommendations from the DWG’s analysis include:

Payment Reform Recommendations

• Appropriately reimburse providers for meeting standards of care in treating their patients by paying adequately for all services delivered.
• Test and implement payment models that reward providers for supplying optimal care to patients with diabetes.

Care Management Recommendations

• Increase use of shared decision-making opportunities with patients in the office setting to maximize patient engagement in self-management of diabetes.
• Leverage existing HIT tools fully to assist patients in diabetes self-management and track performance.
• Create strong provider teams and share roles and expectations with patients.

Workforce Supply Recommendations

• Work to make diabetes care an attractive choice for new medical professionals through educational loan forgiveness.
• Promote the importance of providing optimal diabetes care as an essential aspect of the healthcare system.

Robert Vigersky, MD, Society past-president, represented the Society in the coalition and helped direct its activities as coalition co-chair. Karen Fitzner, PhD, also served as co-chair of the coalition and represented the American Association of Diabetes Educators.

DWG was formed in 2009 to focus on provider and delivery system barriers to diabetes treatment, addressing a gap in the current research on improving diabetes care. DWG is comprised of The Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics; American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists; American Association of Diabetes Educators; American Diabetes Association; diaTribe; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; and Pediatric Endocrine Society.

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Founded in 1916, The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest, largest, and most active organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology. Today, The Endocrine Society's membership consists of over 15,000 scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in more than 80 countries. Together, these members represent all basic, applied, and clinical interests in endocrinology. The Endocrine Society is based in Chevy Chase, Md. To learn more about the Society, and the field of endocrinology, visit our web site at www.endo-society.org.