PaTH to Health: Diabetes study

PI(s): Jennifer L. Kraschnewski, MD, MPH, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine

Project Summary Obesity is one of America’s primary health concerns and is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, which affects over 29 million people and is associated with serious complications. Although these complications are preventable with proper medical and lifestyle management, including weight loss, nearly half of patients with diabetes do not have adequate glycemic control. Primary care clinics may be an ideal setting for weight control interventions.

The goal of this study is to understand the comparative effectiveness of obesity counseling – as covered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) – in improving weight loss for adults either with or at high risk of type 2 diabetes. Electronic Health Records and Claims Data Researchers will compare weight and diabetes outcomes in three states (Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Utah) using EHR and claims data from before and after CMS and most insurers began providing obesity screening and counseling benefits at no cost to patients.

Study Design: Multi-CRN Data-only Observational

PaTH Partners:

• Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System (Jessica Yeh, Site PI)
• Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Temple Health (Anuradha Paranjape, Site PI)
• Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine (Jennifer Kraschnewski, Site PI)
• University of Pittsburgh, UPMC (Cindy Bryce and Kathleen McTigue, Site co-PIs)
• Geisinger Health System (Sharon Larson and Les Kirschner, Site co-PIs)
• University of Utah (Rachel Hess, Site PI)

Sponsor: PCORI®