PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Young, Laura A
AU  - Halladay, Jacqueline R
AU  - Chen, Ping
AU  - Mottus, Kathleen
AU  - Goeke-Austin, Karen
AU  - Rees, Jennifer
AU  - Vu, Maihan B
AU  - Richman, Erica L
AU  - Sharpe, Jordan
AU  - Thomas, Aaron
AU  - Donahue, Katrina E
TI  - Increasing Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support Referrals with an Electronic Best Practice Advisory
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2025.250280R1
DP  - 2026 Jan 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 157909
VI  - 39
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/39/1/157909.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/39/1/157909.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2026 Jan 01; 39
AB  - Introduction Diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) services are often underutilized, partly due to low referral rates by clinicians. This examines if using a Best Practice Advisory (BPA) integrated into the electronic health record (EHR) during clinic visits increases DSMES referral rates.Methods We developed a BPA within the Epic EHR for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) eligible for DSMES services. This BPA was implemented in four primary care practices within a university-based health system, while two additional practices served as controls. We analyzed data using multilevel logistic regression with patient data nested within clinicians. We employed binary logit functions and maximum likelihood estimation to assess the odds of DSMES referrals postvisit. Both unadjusted and adjusted models were tested, accounting for clinic and patient variables.Results From April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, 2,526 BPAs were deployed in intervention clinics, resulting in a 12.9% DSMES referral rate. In contrast, control clinics had 1,444 eligible patient visits with a 1.2% referral rate (p<0.001).Conclusions Integrating BPA prompts into the EHR significantly enhances DSMES referral rates. This approach effectively identifies eligible patients and simplifies the referral process, addressing some barriers to DSMES utilization.