A quality improvement initiative to enhance timeliness and consistency in gestational diabetes mellitus management

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) requires prompt intervention to ensure optimal maternal and neonatal outcomes, yet clinical workflows often lack the consistency needed for timely care. This quality improvement project aimed to standardize the diagnostic follow-up process at an urban collaborative practice to improve patient access to evidence-based best practices. Over an 11-week period (n=13), the implementation of a standardized clinical bundle featuring bilingual EHR SmartPhrases resulted in 69% utilization, exceeding the project goal. Additionally, results suggest the use of these structured EHR tools led to a substantial improvement in Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) scheduling from a pre-intervention 16% baseline to a post-intervention 30% proportion.