AMA launches multi-state effort to prevent type 2 diabetes
November 17, 2017
As National Diabetes Awareness Month gets underway, the American Medical Association (AMA) this week announced a multi-state effort aimed at reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes nationwide. Building off of its initial work to prevent new cases of type 2 diabetes in South Carolina, the AMA is launching similar statewide efforts in eight additional states to help reach more of the 84 million American adults who unknowingly live with prediabetes —the precursor to type 2 diabetes.
Through its collaborations launched last year with the South Carolina Medical Association and the medical societies of California and Michigan, the AMA has been working to develop models for preventing type 2 diabetes that can be used in other states across the country.
“With 37% percent of the people living with prediabetes in South Carolina unaware they have the condition and at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes, we are excited to continue working with AMA to help reach thousands more patients with prediabetes,” said South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA) Chief Executive Officer Marjorie Heggie.
The models developed through these collaborations will be used to help galvanize more physicians throughout the country to screen their at-risk patients for prediabetes and refer those at high risk to evidenced-based National Diabetes Prevention Programs (National DPPs) that have been shown to cut in half the risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes. This is the primary mission of Prevent Diabetes STAT™, a national collaboration between the AMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched in 2015.
This effort will also help bridge the gap between the clinical care setting and communities to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes by connecting more patients to evidence-based lifestyle change programs that are available in their communities, including programs offered where they work, through community and faith-based organizations, and online.
The new collaborations announced this week are part of the AMA’s strategic effort at the state level aimed at making the most immediate impact on the nation’s health. The AMA first began working with the medical community in Michigan and has collaborated with leading health systems and business stakeholders, including Henry Ford Macomb Hospital and EPIC. Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, in partnership with EPIC, is piloting a patient registry that could become a national model for enrolling patients with prediabetes into National DPPs and reducing their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The AMA is currently working with more than 45 health systems throughout the U.S. to develop and implement system-wide diabetes prevention strategies.
As part of its ongoing efforts to improve the health of the nation, the AMA will continue to forge new partnerships and support policies aimed at reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes and the staggering burden associated with this public health epidemic.
About the SCMA
The South Carolina Medical Association is the premier association for physicians in South Carolina. An association for all physicians, providing a voice for the industry and creating opportunities to improve the health of all South Carolinians. For more information, visit www.scmedical.org.
About the AMA
The American Medical Association is the premier national organization providing timely, essential resources to empower physicians, residents and medical students to succeed at every phase of their medical lives. Physicians have entrusted the AMA to advance the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health on behalf of patients for more than 170 years. For more information, visit ama-assn.org.
