Improving Care
Our pediatric diabetes quality improvement program has the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes and quality of life for our patients and families. We maintain a clinic registry and are using the data to identify needs and develop interventions for improving care. We are also one of more than 50 diabetes centers across the country participating in the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative (T1DX-QIC), a learning community focused on improving patient and family outcomes. See below for a description of the major initiatives we are currently working on.
Patient-Centered Clinic Design
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The U-M Pediatric Diabetes Clinic is committed to creating a positive, patient- and family-focused experience. We are using different methods to engage with our patients and families to better understand how we can help lessen the burden of diabetes. This includes gathering input from patients and families, such as conducting surveys to address coverage issues, working closely with our lead patient/family advisor, and developing virtual communications tools like the updated UMPedsDiabetes.com website and email newsletter to improve communication and dissemination of resources.
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Patient Portal Enrollment
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In an effort to improve communication between our patients/caregivers and the U-M Pediatric Diabetes Team, we have been working to increase enrollment in the patient portal (MyUofMHealth.org). Using the patient portal, patients and caregivers can easily upload blood sugar logs, send secure messages to the U-M Pediatric Diabetes Team, view lab results, request prescription refills, view and pay bills online, and review other health records. We recognize that the sign-up process can be confusing so we developed a process to help enroll patients/caregivers while they were in clinic. We also created a set of step-by-step sign-up instructions that patients/caregivers can follow at home.
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Depression Screening
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Our team developed a process to integrate depression screening for teens seen in our clinic. We began with a small pilot trial, but eventually expanded to include all teens with diabetes aged 13-17. During clinic visits, teen patients will be asked to complete a brief survey to screen for depression. Just like routine eye and foot screening, the information from the questionnaire will be used as part of your child’s diabetes treatment plan.
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Quality Improvement Staff
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Director of Quality Improvement
Joyce Lee, MD, MPH
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Associate Director of Quality Improvement
Ashley Garrity, MPH
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Pediatric Endocrinology Division Director
Inas Thomas, MD
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Patient/Family Advisor
Amy Ohmer
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Graphic Designer/Webmaster
Justine Ross