A Statewide Physician Champion Initiative to Prevent Diabetes: Lessons Learned from North Carolina

Abstract

The North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) and American Medical Association (AMA) collaborated to support diabetes prevention efforts in North Carolina (NC) with a physician champion initiative focused on tracking and increasing referrals to the National Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Three focus areas to effectively engage and utilize physician champions included: (1) self-adoption within their practice, (2) engagement and outreach with other healthcare leaders, and (3) influence to peers and colleagues. Six NC physician champions were selected to support the work from January 2020 to January 2023. This resulted in increased outreach to physicians about Diabetes Free NC, increased materials/education for physicians on prediabetes identification and management, and 1943 referrals to the National DPP. This work can be further translated and applied to other states to aid prevention efforts. Physician champions’ expertise coupled with adequate resources can allow them to play a key role in chronic disease prevention and management.