EasyPI: Diabetes

Welcome to the diabetes track page. Here you will find all of the information you need to complete a self-guided performance improvement (PI) project focused on diabetes in practice that will earn you American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) PI and continuing medical education (CME) credits.

As a new initiative for the OAFP, we would love your feedback on your current comfort in completing a PI activity for ABFM credit. In order to gauge effectiveness of this new tool, EasyPI, please take a few moments to share initial feedback before diving in by completing a quick survey.

And, once you’ve reviewed the content and/or submitted a project for credit, please let us know how it went by completing the post-survey.

Here’s a quick step-by-step on where to begin:
  1. As needed, review the background information and guidelines for diabetes care.
  2. Determine what factor in diabetes care you want to address – you may already know gaps in care, may have identified change in guidelines that need to be implemented, may identify gaps by doing process mapping, or may use your EHR to review data to find opportunities for improvement.
  3. Review the Performance Improvement Process Materials, do process mapping, determine your quality measures, and create a quality improvement plan.
  4. Collect preliminary data.
  5. Implement your change. Note: you select the length of the PI activity (at least seven (7) days, but not more than 12 months).
  6. Collect post-intervention data.
  7. Submit your project for ABFM credit. See the ABFM Performance Improvement Activity section for detailed directions.

The resources provided below can be used prior to and during your PI project. Resources with indicate there may be additional CME credit available.

Resources with indicate materials that include tools, education, support, etc. on health equity topics to consider.


Utilize all or some of these resources to get you ready for your project.

Overview

Prevention

Screening/Diagnosis

Assessment/Treatment

Diabetes Education/Self-Management

Complications of Diabetes

Practice Management

The following resources are links to guidelines for diabetes care:

Engaging in performance improvement (PI) activities can:
  • Improve patient outcomes and help meet quality metrics
  • Achieve team-based practice change
  • Make your practice more efficient
  • Boost team morale
  • Improve revenue.

These materials will guide you through identifying areas for improvement, understanding and using data, planning and making changes, and tracking performance over time.

Choose the tools to help you and your team have a successful PI project.

Quality Measures & Intervention Selection

Process Mapping

Workflow & process mapping creates a visual map of the steps your practice currently uses for a specific patient care or administrative task.

Benefits of process mapping include allowing the entire team to visualize and appreciate what role/contribution they and their colleagues play in the care of patients; gives an overview of the current processes that allows the team to plan for change; identifies unintended variations in care, inefficient procedures, and opportunities to involve other team members in care; improves communication between team members; gives team members increased ownership in patient care; and can increase employee job satisfaction.

View an outline of the mapping process and the following instructional video on the process:

Data Collection

Health Equity/Population Health Resource

Now that you’ve collected data, implemented change, and have your outcomes, it’s time to submit your project for credit! Family physicians will use the ABFM’s Self-Directed Performance Improvement (PI) Project pathway to do so.

This pathway allows you to report customized improvement projects, regardless of the scope of care delivered. This pathway can be used to satisfy your PI requirement for continuing certification. Some key things to know about this pathway:
  • You may report a project conducted alone or within a single practice group, an ACO, or other larger group practices
  • You can use this pathway whether you see patients in a continuity setting, or if you are providing non-continuity episodic care (e.g., hospitalist, telemedicine, locums, urgent care, emergency department, etc.).

Log into your MyABFM Portfolio to access this PI activity. To help you through the process of applying for credit, below you will find links to a blank application to review to make sure you have all of the information you will need; a completed sample application for an “Improving Diabetic Retinopathy Screening” project with helpful notes; and a video guide that walks you through each step.
Once you’ve submitted your application and it has been approved (may take up to 10 days for approval), you will fulfill an ABFM certification requirement and you will have earned 20 ABFM points and 20 American Academy of Family Physicians Prescribed CME credits.
 
We’d love to hear how this process was for you and what impact you had on patient care by completing your PI activity. Let us know in a post-survey.
 
If you have any questions regarding your PI activity requirement for the ABFM or if you have any issues with your application, please contact Ann Williamson at the ABFM. You can also visit the OAFP’s ABFM Certification webpage for more information on all things ABFM!


Questions

If you have any questions regarding materials on this page or the PI process in general, please contact Deputy Executive Vice President Kaitlin McGuffie or call 800.742.7327.

Sponsor

Funding support for this EasyPI track was provided by Novo Nordisk, a proud Partner in Health of the OAFP.