Funded by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), the Gestational Diabetes Postpartum Care Learning Collaborative is engaging practices in a quality improvement (QI) deep dive effort to test strategies aimed at increasing education and screening for Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) among women with a history of gestational diabetes (GDM), with a special emphasis on high-risk women enrolled in Medicaid. The collaborative provides:

• patient and provider toolkits,

• access to clinical experts,

• monthly coaching calls, and

• rapid cycle data feedback.

Why the gestational diabetes postpartum care learning collaborative?

• GDM affects an estimated 3-9% of all pregnancies in Ohio

• About half of all women diagnosed with GDM during pregnancy will develop T2DM

  • This equates to about 9,000 pregnancies in Ohio each year

• It is recommended that women with a history of GDM be screened for pre-diabetes and diabetes within 6-12 weeks postpartum

• Despite this recommendation, only 46% of women kept their postpartum appointment.

• Only 30-35% of providers are aware of the risk that women with GDM have of developing T2DM.

• Establishing a relationship between the OBGYN and other primary care providers can improve women's knowledge about GDM and improve follow-up of diabetes testing at 6-12 weeks postpartum.

Project Goals:

• Identify best practices for improving diabetes screening and postpartum patient care;

• Implement practitioner and patient-focused toolkits; and

• Provide support to clinical teams to implement diabetes screening, identification, education, and treatment.

Toolkits:

• The collaborative toolkits provide patients and providers with resources on clinical guidelines and best practices.

For more information, please visit the Ohio GDM Postpartum Care Learning Collaborative.