NEWS & EVENTS 
SPECIALTY CARE
CBS affiliate WWMT interviewed MCT2D Co-Director and ambulatory care pharmacy expert Heidi Diez, PharmD, BCACP, for a recent television broadcast on the ongoing GLP-1 RA shortage and how it impacts clinicians and patients across Michigan. An excerpt from the broadcast:
News Channel 3 talked to Dr. Heidi Diez, PharmD, clinical pharmacist and Program Co-Director of the Michigan Collaborative for Type 2 Diabetes (MCT2D). We asked her how her patients deal with not being able to find their medications.“I tell them ahead of time to plan: ‘What radius are you willing to drive?’ Once you’ve determined that radius, start calling pharmacies and ask, ‘Do you have this drug?”Dr. Diez says 80% to 90% of her patients are dealing with this shortage.“It’s a huge amount of communication,” said Dr. Diez. “But it’s also a terrible burden on the patient, on the community pharmacists out there-they’re short staffed, primary care are short staffed. They’re having to answer all these calls from patients who are just feeling helpless.”
The current shortage of GLP-1 RA medications for type 2 diabetes, like Ozempic and Mounjaro, has introduced additional administrative challenges for clinicians across the state. Since its release in February 2023, MCT2D's guide to supporting patients during the shortage has garnered over 18,000 views and downloads. In addition to developing clinician and patient-centered point-of-care tools, MCT2D works across payors to optimize key processes in the administrative authorization of guideline-directed medication therapies. Examples include implementing claims lookback automation to avoid prior authorization procedures and developing interoperable processes to expedite prescribing for members of MCT2D.
Diez joined the MCT2D leadership team as co-director in 2023. She has contributed clinical expertise to a range of MCT2D point-of-care tools to support Michigan health care providers in adhering to guideline-directed medication therapy for type 2 diabetes, including:
- This one-page guide, developed by Jonathan Gabison, MD (first author), Lauren Oshman, MD, MPH, FAACP and Heidi Diez, PharmD, provides dosing and titration guidelines for switching between GLP-1 RA/GIPs during the national shortage in the United States, as well as functional tips for navigating medication shortages.
- SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists are first-line treatments for T2D in patients with cardiorenal disease. This aid is meant to be used alongside your own clinical judgment, guideline-directed therapy, and prescribing information to guide individualization of diabetes treatment. Lead clinical author is Heidi Diez, PharmD, clinical pharmacist, with Michael Heung, MD, nephrologist.
- A green, yellow, and red light system for adjusting diabetes medications like GLP-1 RAs, DPP-4i's, basal and bolus insulin, and sulfonylureas and monitoring blood glucose and adapting nutrition goals while adopting a low carb lifestyle.
Diez also moderated a recent discussion on quality improvement in medication therapy for type 2 diabetes. The discussion was part of MCT2D's CME-earning monthly live learning community webinar series. Learning community events are open to MCT2D members and the general public.
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Support for The Michigan Collaborative for Type 2 Diabetes (MCT2D) is provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan as part of the BCBSM Value Partnerships program.
Although Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and MCT2D work collaboratively, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of BCBSM or any of its employees.