The American Medical Association, Intermountain Healthcare and Omada Health announced an initiative to help healthcare organizations adopt online behavior change interventions for patients at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and to integrate those programs into provider referral and clinical workflow.
All three organizations believe evidence-based, technology-enabled care models are key to addressing the more than 86 million Americans who currently have prediabetes, they said in a statement. People with prediabetes have higher than normal blood glucose levels, but not high enough yet to be considered type 2 diabetes. Research shows that 15 to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years unless they lose weight through healthy eating and increased physical activity. Up to 90 percent of people with prediabetes are unaware that they have the condition. Within Intermountain’s service area, it’s estimated that more than 114,000 people are living with prediabetes.
Omada Health is a digital behavioral medicine company that encourages people to change the habits that put them most at risk for chronic conditions, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The company is the largest CDC-recognized provider of the National Diabetes Prevention Program, and since its founding, has enrolled more than 60,000 participants.
Last year, Omada Health reportedly became the first digital health company to publish peer-reviewed results demonstrating that program participants maintained reductions in body weight and average blood sugar levels – critical indicators of diabetes progression – two years after beginning the program.
Combining the AMA’s efforts to raise prediabetes awareness nationally, and Intermountain Healthcare’s population health strategies to drive better care, this initiative is designed to allow Intermountain physicians and care teams to refer patients to, and monitor their progress through an evidence-based online diabetes prevention program. Access to real-time, actionable data will better position care teams to create specific, personalized patient touch-points to support program completion and success, the organizations said. The collaboration marks the first time that the AMA has worked with a digital healthcare provider to refer high-risk patients to an online lifestyle change program.
“Research shows that participation in evidence-based diabetes prevention programs can cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by nearly 60 percent,” said AMA President Andrew W. Gurman, M.D. “Online technology such as Omada’s program will help Intermountain physicians and care teams stay connected with their patients as they take proactive steps outside of the clinical setting to prevent type 2 diabetes. By bridging this gap, treatment touch-points with patients over the course of their time in the online program can be more meaningful and impactful, which we believe is a win for both patients and their providers.”