Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Week takes place from 25–31 May, providing a timely opportunity for practices to review how they are identifying, supporting and managing patients at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The NHS Healthier You Diabetes Prevention Programme has already helped prevent thousands of new diagnoses across England by supporting people to make sustainable lifestyle changes around weight management, healthy eating and physical activity.
Referring Patients to the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme
General practices can refer patients aged 18 and over who have been identified with non-diabetic hyperglycaemia (NDH), sometimes referred to as pre-diabetes.
Women with a history of gestational diabetes are also eligible and can either be referred by the practice or self-refer directly to the programme.
For many practices, this is an opportunity not only to improve long-term patient outcomes, but also to strengthen preventative care evidence within their wider governance and quality framework.
Important QOF Change: DM037
Practices should also be aware of the updated DM037 QOF indicator for diabetic patients.
Under the revised requirements, practices now need to provide and record all eight care processes for patients with diabetes in order to achieve the QOF points for that patient.
Previously, some of these care processes were linked to separate indicators, but the new approach places greater emphasis on delivering and evidencing the full pathway of diabetic care.
The eight care processes include measures such as:
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HbA1c
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Blood pressure
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Cholesterol
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Serum creatinine / eGFR
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Urine albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR)
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Foot examination
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BMI
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Smoking status
For many practices, this change highlights the importance of robust recall systems, coding accuracy and clear clinical workflows.
A Useful Opportunity to Review Your Diabetes Care Pathway
Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Week is a good reminder to step back and assess how well your current diabetes pathway is working.
Questions worth considering include:
- Are eligible patients consistently being referred to prevention services?
- Are all eight care processes being reliably captured and coded?
- Do clinical and administrative teams understand the new DM037 requirements?
- Is your evidence easy to demonstrate if requested by CQC or commissioners?
Often the work is already happening — the challenge is ensuring it is systematic, visible and consistently evidenced.
Exploring New Approaches to Supporting Patients
If your practice is interested in exploring different ways to support diabetic patients, Daniel is currently working on an interesting project focused on improving patient engagement and outcomes in diabetes care.
Practices interested in finding out more are encouraged to connect with him directly.