M06 - Improving Self-Management through Person-Centered Lifestyle Medicine and Shared Medical Visits

Diabetes, affecting over 38 million Americans, remains a major public health challenge, with increasing prevalence and financial burden. Managing T2D requires a multifaceted approach, including behavior modification, medical nutrition therapy, and medications. Given the urgency to reduce T2D and pre-diabetes, this session explores lifestyle modification supported by shared medical visits (SMVs) as a transformative strategy. SMVs foster patient collaboration, enhancing satisfaction, improving clinical outcomes, and supporting long-term behavioral change such as better glycemic outcomes, weight loss, and ability to follow the treatment plan. Attendees will gain actionable insights on optimizing SMV implementation, including addressing logistical challenges, scheduling, space, confidentiality, and provider training for effective self-management.