Increasing Referrals and Overcoming Barriers to Participation

A clear and efficient DSMES referral process is important for referring providers, DSMES services, and people with diabetes. While there is evidence that defines critical times for referral to and delivery of DSMES, there may be barriers that impact service delivery. Barriers to DSMES may occur at the programmatic, provider, and/or individual levels, so it is essential to identify and address these barriers.

Providers and educators are vital in linking their patients to diabetes self-management support services (DSMS) to help them sustain behaviors needed to self-manage their diabetes. The ADA DSMS Toolkit [PDF-1.1MB] and DSMS Plan [PDF-237KB] can be used to personalize and identify local resources on emotional health, nutrition, physical activity, smoking cessation, support groups, and more as part of ongoing diabetes support.