Impact of Quality Improvement (QI) Program on 5-Year Risk of Diabetes-Related Complications: A Simulation Study

OBJECTIVE We successfully implemented the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) Diabetes INSIDE (INspiring System Improvement with Data-Driven Excellence) quality improvement (QI) program at a university hospital and safety-net health system (Tulane and Parkland), focused on system-wide improvement in poorly controlled type 2 diabetes (HbA1c >8.0% [64 mmol/mol]). In this study, we estimated the 5-year risk reduction in complications and mortality associated with the QI program. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The QI implementation period was 1 year, followed by the postintervention period of 6 months to evaluate the impact of QI on clinical measures. We measured the differences between the baseline and postintervention clinical outcomes in 2,429 individuals with HbA1c >8% (64 mmol/mol) at baseline and used the Building, Relating, Assessing, and Validating Outcomes (BRAVO) diabetes model to project the 5-year risk reduction of diabetes-related complications under the assumption that intervention benefits persist over time. An alternative assumption that intervention benefits diminish by 30% every year was also tested. RESULTS The QI program was associated with reductions in HbA1c (−0.84%) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) (−5.94 mg/dL) among individuals with HbA1c level >8.0% (64 mmol/mol), with greater reduction in HbA1c (−1.67%) and LDL-C (−6.81 mg/dL) among those with HbA1c level >9.5% at baseline (all P < 0.05). The implementation of the Diabetes INSIDE QI program was associated with 5-year risk reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) (relative risk [RR] 0.78 [95% CI 0.75–0.81]) and all-cause mortality (RR 0.83 [95% CI 0.82–0.85]) among individuals with baseline HbA1c level >8.0% (64 mmol/mol), and MACE (RR 0.60 [95% CI 0.56–0.65]) and all-cause mortality (RR 0.61 [95% CI 0.59–0.64]) among individuals with baseline HbA1c level >9.5% (80 mmol/mol). Sensitivity analysis also identified a substantially lower risk of diabetes-related complications and mortality associated with the QI program. CONCLUSIONS Our modeling results suggest that the ADA’s Diabetes INSIDE QI program would benefit the patients and population by substantially reducing the 5-year risk of complications and mortality in individuals with diabetes.