Proactive total diet replacement referral for type 2 diabetes: A service evaluation

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Diabetes Management
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (TDM) disproportionately affects socioeconomically deprived populations.
• Total Diet Replacement (TDR) is an effective intervention for TDM, commissioned by Integrated Care Boards (ICBs).
• Identifying and referring eligible patients for TDR presents a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a 12-month population health management, proactive referral intervention.
• To supplement primary care referrals during a TDR pilot.
• To assess the effectiveness of proactive outreach in a specific ICB.

Main Methods:

• A Diabetes specialist nurse reviewed routinely collected healthcare data from 16 primary care centers.
• Potentially eligible patients were identified through data searches across 3 Primary Care Networks (PCNs).
• An interrupted time series analysis was used to assess referral trends.

Main Results:

• The intervention resulted in a statistically significant increase in monthly referrals (F (1,22) = 5.19, p=0.0345).
• 19.7% of identified potential patients were successfully referred.
• Referral yield was not significantly altered when targeting more socioeconomically deprived areas.

Conclusions:

• Proactive care interventions can effectively facilitate patient referrals to TDR.
• Healthcare commissioning bodies can utilize such interventions to improve access to high-impact treatments.
• This model supports enhanced population health management for TDM.