2372-PUB: An EHR-Based Tool to Aid Treatment Decisions and Combat Therapeutic Inertia in Patients with Uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes—A Pilot Study

An electronic health record (EHR)-based tool was developed for EPIC My Practice at Cleveland Clinic to aid treatment decisions and combat therapeutic inertia in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and suboptimal glycemic control (A1C ≥8%). The tool consists of three separate components activated during an office visit: a best practice alert (BPA) if a patient had an A1C ≥ 8% within the past 6 months, a Smartform (patient summary and order entry form), and a Smartset for T2D medications to achieve patient-centered treatment goals, supplies, laboratory, and consult orders. The provider may acknowledge the BPA and pursue therapy intensification or defer. The tool was piloted for 3 months (primary care providers (PCP) n=12, endocrinology providers n=5). BPA acknowledgement and utilization practices were recorded by specialty. The CollaboRATE survey (3 items, scale 0-9) was used to assess patient perceptions of shared decision-making afforded by the tool. The BPA appeared for 420/1,766 T2D patients at an office-based encounter with a PCP or endocrinology provider. While the BPA was acknowledged at most endocrinology visits (95%) and approximately 50% of primary care visits, use of all three components of the tool only occurred in ∼10% of eligible encounters. The CollaboRATE survey was administered to a subset of 83 patients exposed to the tool. Most chose the highest rating for questions assessing if efforts were made to: 1. help them better understand their health issue (87%), 2. listen to what matters most to them about their health issue (93%) and 3. integrate what matters to them into next steps (92%). Use of an EHR-based tool to aid treatment decisions is variable by specialty, though appears to lead to a high perception of shared decision-making for T2D patients. Additional provider education and improved incorporation of the tool into PCP work-flow may help to address therapeutic inertia in routine clinical practice.