Best Practices

In this section, read about both people who have championed new approaches to supportive patient self-management as well as projects that are leading the way to better collaborative self-management support and a better health care system. Projects range from collaborative-based programs engaging teams in an improvement learning network to disease-specific programs that focus on a subset of people learning to better manage a chronic illness.

Projects Making A Difference

The 20 ambulatory care teams who participated in the Quality Allies: Improving Care by Engaging Patients  initiative tested a variety of robust models for collaborative self-management support. Read more about the teams and their work.

The Diabetes Initiative is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It focuses on Advancing Diabetes Self Management and Building Community Supports for Diabetes Care in real world clinic and community settings of diverse populations. These two programs support demonstration projects that test and introduce quality improvements in the resources and supports for diabetes self management.

Click here to read more about projects that are making a difference.

People Making a Difference

From Skeptic to Believer in Self-Management Support
David Swieskowski, MD, MBA
Vice President for Quality
Mercy Clinics, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Dr. David Swieskowski at Iowa Health System talks about his journey from "self-management skeptic" to a believer, and how his practice and his patients have benefited.

Click here to read more about people who are making a difference.