Implementation of a continuous glucose monitoring workflow in a complex primary care clinic

BACKGROUND: Continuous glucose monitors (CGM) are supported by national clinical practice guidelines for glucose monitoring in many people with diabetes. However, CGM data are often underutilized in primary care settings, where most adults with diabetes are treated. LOCAL PROBLEM: Despite a growing patient population using CGM in a complex primary care clinic, the clinic lacks a structured workflow process for manually uploading CGM reports to the electronic health record. As a result, CGM data are inconsistently used by primary care providers for clinical decision-making during routine visits. METHODS: Using the Plan-Do-Study-Act methodology, workflow processes for registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), doctors of medicine (MDs), family nurse practitioners (FNPs), and clinical pharmacists (PharmDs) were examined and improved to support the project goals. INTERVENTIONS: Patients actively using CGM were identified daily. Assigned clinic nurses (n = 3; 1 RN and 2 LPNs) uploaded CGM logs as precharting to the visit, which were then used by providers (n = 3; 1 MD and 2 FNPs) during clinical encounters. When nurses were not available, the MD, FNPs, or PharmD (n = 1) completed the workflow. RESULTS: Ambulatory glucose profiles were uploaded to precharting in 43 of 45 patients (96%) with active CGM during the project evaluation period. Providers discussed CGM in 38 (88%) of these cases, using it correctly 100% of the time. The current procedural terminology code 95251 was billed in 35 (92%) of the applicable visits. CONCLUSIONS: Interprofessional teamwork to implement clinic workflow process improvements supports the delivery of guideline-driven diabetes care for adults using CGM.