Embedded Primary Care MultiDisciplinary Diabetes Clinic

July 28, 2026 updated by: Britt A. Marshall, Emory University

Embedding and Evaluating Multidisciplinary Diabetes Management and Continuous Glucose Monitoring Into Primary Care for a Vulnerable Population

The purpose of this study is to improve diabetes management for patients at Midtown General Internal Medicine Clinic (Aim 1). The clinic offers dedicated diabetes care on certain days with trained providers able to offer dedicated diabetes care. The clinic will also make sure to address other aspects of life and health that may impact an individual's ability to manage their diabetes - food insecurity, housing insecurity, knowing about healthy food, finding ways to exercise, and mental health. The study will also train the medical residents to be able to participate in this dedicated diabetes care (Aim 2).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

There is a widening quality of care gap in diabetes mellitus (DM) management that sees Black and Hispanic patients with much higher rates of DM complications and hospitalizations compared to their white counterparts. Primary Care is the frontline for DM prevention and management; however, Primary Care Clinics, including Internal Medicine resident continuity clinics, struggle to improve DM metrics. The lack of resources, such as time and personnel, is a significant limiting factor in strategies that would allow these clinics to optimize care. As a result, the current DM management model was created, in which Primary Care providers refer patients with elevated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) to subspecialty care. This process is inefficient, overwhelms subspecialty practices, and most importantly does not address the social determinants of health that often make it difficult for patients to get their DM under control.

This traditional model also comes with a potential institutional financial cost. There is a perception that reducing upfront costs of care can make a system more economically viable; yet this can have devastating results for a system and for its patients on the back end. For example, HbA1c is a Merit-based Incentive Payment System Clinical Quality Measure if a patient population is not supported in their efforts for DM control, this can translate to monetary loss annually for the Emory Healthcare System. In addition, there are also potential losses to the system related to long-term morbidity and mortality risks of elevated HbA1c over time.

Studies have shown that a multi-disciplinary approach including physician, dietitian, DM education, psychotherapy, and social work services functioning concurrently and cooperatively has the potential to positively change the current paradigm. Given the vital role Primary Care plays in the management of all aspects of patient care, including physical and psychosocial well-being, this care delivery model is optimally designed to have the most impact and success in the Primary Care Clinic setting. The research team proposes to embed a multi-disciplinary diabetes-focused clinic within Primary Care in the Emory Healthcare System where this approach would create a central location for all the patients' DM needs, provide efficient care that helps patients address social and economic barriers, and engage the care team through between-clinic touchpoints to motivate patients to take agency over their health. This also provides a venue to implement modern technologies for DM management, such as continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). Despite its proven efficacy in DM management, CGM remains an understudied intervention in Primary Care, especially in patient populations that would otherwise have difficulty accessing specialty care. Researchers anticipate that these changes will enable improved adherence to follow-up visits and treatment.

In addition to the benefits of streamlined patient care, this model also offers the opportunity to enhance Internal Medicine residency education. Investigators intend to develop a hybrid clinical/educational curriculum for residents that capitalizes on and models appropriate resource utilization through an integrated care model and provides early exposure to multi-disciplinary care and CGM.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

185

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

    • Georgia
      • Atlanta, Georgia, United States, 30308
        • Emory Primary Clinic Care at Midtown

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Aim 1 (Embedded diabetes clinic):

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18+
  • Patient at Midtown Diabetes Clinic
  • Able to consent
  • HbA1c >=9%

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Not planning to follow up at Midtown
  • Pregnancy
  • Followed by Endocrinology as a specialist

Aim 2 (Embedded diabetes clinic and curriculum):

Inclusion Criteria:

- All residents in Midtown Primary Care are eligible

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Embedded clinic at Midtown
Using the Emory Clinical Data Warehouse (CDW), all patients of Emory Primary Care Midtown with HbA1c >9% who are not currently under the care of an endocrinologist or the diabetes management program at Emory will be invited to participate in this embedded DM management clinic.
Once a week, a Primary Care clinic half-day will be dedicated to multi-disciplinary, team-based DM care. The inter-professional team will include an Internal Medicine attending physician, an Internal Medicine resident, a DM educator, a nurse trained in professional continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), a behavioral health provider, and a social worker to assist in finding resources for housing, food, and patient assistance programs.
Other Names:
  • Multi-disciplinary, team-based DM care

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Embedded Clinic Patients With an HbA1c >9%
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months
Participants with HbA1c >9% since the embedded clinic implementation. Data will be assessed from electronic medical records (EMR)
Baseline and 6 months
HbA1C
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 months
HbA1C results from electronic medical records.
Baseline and 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Diabetes Self-efficacy Score
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months

Participants will complete the Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale (DMSES).

It assesses the extent to which respondents are confident in their ability to manage their blood sugar, diet, and exercise level. Responses are rated on a 5-point scale ranging from ''can't do at all'' (1) to ''certain can do'' (5). A sum of scores is calculated. On this scale, higher scores in each domain indicate greater self-efficacy in performing Diabetes self-management (DSM) activities, while lower scores indicate specific areas needing educational intervention. Score ranges:

Domain 1 Nutrition: 9-45 Domain 2 Treatment: 3-15 Domain 3 Physical Activity: 4-20 Domain 4 Monitoring: 4-20

Overall higher scores indicate a greater self-efficacy (better outcome).

Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9)
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months
Depression will be assessed using the 9-question Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9), which is a diagnostic tool to screen adult patients in a primary care setting for the presence and severity of depression. Scores represent: 0-5 = mild 6-10 = moderate 11-15 = moderately severe. 16-20 = severe depression.
Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months
Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) Score
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months
Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) is a self-reported questionnaire for screening and severity measuring of generalized anxiety disorder. Questions reflect on symptoms over the past two weeks. Scoring: Items are rated on a scale from 0 ("not at all") to 3 ("nearly every day"), with total scores ranging from 0 to 21. Scores represent 0-4: Minimal Anxiety; 5-9: Mild Anxiety; 10-14: Moderate Anxiety; a score greater than 15: Severe Anxiety
Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Latin American and Caribbean (ELSCA) Household Food Security Measurement Scale
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months
To measure food insecurity, participants will complete the Latin American and Caribbean (ELSCA) Household Food Security Measurement Scale. This scale uses a set of 15 questions, with yes/no response categories, seven of which are for households with children. Each question asks the respondent whether he/she or any other household member has experienced a certain manifestation of food insecurity in the previous three months. Households that affirm 3 items are classified as food insecure.
Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months
Urine Microalbumin
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months
Change in urine microalbumin (mcg/mg min 0 and higher the worse the outcome) will be calculated from available laboratory assessments from EMR
Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months
Housing Insecurity Instrument
Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months
Percentage of participants of being at risk for housing insecurity by answering the 2-question housing insecurity instrument: (1) "Are you worried or concerned that in the next 2 months you may not have stable housing that you own, rent, or stay in as part of a household?" with responses of "yes" or "no," and (2) "How likely do you think it would be that you would have to use a homeless shelter in the next 6 months?" with 4 response options ranging from "very unlikely" to "very likely."
Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Collaborators

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Britt A Marshall, MD, Emory University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 20, 2023

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 24, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

January 24, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 22, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 23, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

August 29, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 28, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY00006033
  • P30DK111024 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • 2023P006207 (Other Identifier: Emory Insight Humans IRB)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The research team will share deidentified individual participant's data that underlie the results reported in the article after deidentification (text, tables, figures, and appendices)

IPD Sharing Time Frame

The research team will share the deidentified data immediately following publication, with no known end date.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data will be shared with researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal to achieve the aims specified in their proposal

All proposals should be sent to britt.marshall@emory.edu.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.