Press Release
BOISE, ID, October 24, 2019—A study conducted by physicians and public health experts at UCLA and surrounding health agencies tested the efficacy of shared decision making (SDM) tools to improve diabetes prevention in over 350 prediabetes patients across 20 primary care clinics. The findings, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, show that people who use Healthwise SDM tools are more likely to participate in a diabetes prevention program (DPP), take metformin, and lose weight.
Prediabetes is estimated to affect 37% of U.S. adults (84 million people) and is a precursor to some of the most dangerous and costly conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke (CDC). This study is the first of its kind to incorporate SDM tools in the measurement of clinical outcomes for a significant patient population.
According to the study’s co-principal investigator, Dr. Kenrik Duru, professor of medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, future research will be conducted with the larger UCLA and Intermountain Healthcare. "Based on the success of this intervention, our team at UCLA has partnered with Intermountain Healthcare to scale up SDM for diabetes prevention within both health systems, as part of a $1.7 million project funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI),” Dr. Duru said.
SDM tools help bridge communication gaps with patients about their own health and can serve as a preference-sensitive way to address prediabetes. Healthwise decision aids present options in an unbiased manner, explain the risks and benefits of each option, and capture people’s values and priorities in a summary that can support a shared decision making conversation between patients and their care teams.
“When there are different management options for a given condition, it’s very important for patients to be fully informed of their options and to be able to choose what works best for them,” said Dr. Tannaz Moin, the lead author of the study and assistant professor of medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. “For diabetes prevention, patients can choose intensive lifestyle change, metformin, both, or neither.”
Research shows that under 5% of people who are eligible for participation are referred to or participate in a DPP. But this new study demonstrates that patient education and tools could raise the participation rate.
“We’re excited to see the positive impact these tools had in promoting patient engagement. It’s amazing how well health care works when people truly understand their health condition, their choices for treatment, and their own preferences for care. When this happens, people can work with their doctors to make the best health decision—one consistent with the medical facts and with their feelings and motivations,” says Adam Husney, MD, CEO at Healthwise.
The study’s co-principal investigator is Carol Mangione, MD, Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the study’s lead author is Tannaz Moin, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Healthwise, a leader in evidence-based health education, technology, and services, is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help people make better health decisions. People have turned to Healthwise information more than 2 billion times to learn how to do more for themselves, ask for the care they need, and say “no” to the care they don’t need. Healthwise partners with leading hospitals, electronic medical record (EMR) providers, health plans, care management companies, and health websites to empower patients and achieve organizational objectives. www.healthwise.org. 1.800.706.9646
CDC.gov (www.cdc.gov) is your online source for credible health information and is the official Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).