The Quality Chasm and the Need for Implementation Science to Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Type 2 Diabetes
Despite the increased cardiovascular (CV) risk associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), much of CV disease can be prevented with aggressive risk factor management. However, only a minority of persons with T2DM actually receive optimal CV risk reduction care, and this varies greatly by socioeconomic status, healthcare coverage/access to healthcare, by region, and race/ethnicity. Implementation science can guide efforts to address these gaps in care. Fundamentally, implementation science is the systematic process of turning what we know into what we do. Here we outline the need for improved CV preventive care among persons with T2DM and the ways in which implementation science principles and methodologies are critical to improving equitable care in this high-risk population. We provide examples of implementation studies in this space and argue for increased funding for such programs, because implementing effective therapies is as important to public health as developing them in the first place.
