There is an alarming number of adults being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and within Intermountain’s service area through Utah and southern Idaho have 114,000 people are living as prediabetes. People with prediabetes have higher than normal blood glucose levels, but not high enough yet to be considered type 2 diabetes. Research shows that 15 to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years unless they lose weight through healthy eating and increased physical activity. Up to 90 percent of people with prediabetes are unaware that they have the condition.

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Combining the AMA’s efforts to raise prediabetes awareness nationally, and Intermountain Healthcare’s population health strategies to drive better care, this initiative will allow Intermountain physicians and care teams to refer patients to, and monitor their progress through an evidence-based online diabetes prevention program. Access to real-time, actionable data will better position care teams to create specific, personalized patient touch-points to support program completion and success. The collaboration marks the first time that the AMA has worked with a digital healthcare provider to refer high risk patients to an online lifestyle change program.

“The addition of Omada to Intermountain’s diabetes prevention program will expand patient access to a CDC-recognized program. We anticipate that access to the Omada program will enhance patient engagement and improve health outcomes,” said Elizabeth Joy, M.D., M.P.H., Intermountain’s Medical Director for Community Health and Clinical Nutrition.

To learn more about the initiative, visit Intermountain’s Newsroom news release.