Why endocrinology software matters for diabetes care

Keep up with high diabetes caseloads and meet payer requirements with endocrinology software

The numbers paint an alarming picture: Diabetes rates jumped by 18.6% from 2012 to 2022. And not only do 1 in 10 people have diabetes, even more people (1 in 3) have prediabetes, a mostly reversible precursor.¹

But that's just one part of a much more troubling story.

Of all the endocrine system diseases, diabetes has become what experts call an “intractable" health crisis¹—firmly rooted and quickly rising. But while the challenge is significant, a new generation of clinical tools and data-driven technologies is helping endocrinologists manage this growing patient population more effectively.

As demand for endocrinology and metabolic diseases care goes up, supply seems to be shrinking. About 4 in 10 endocrinologists are over 50, signaling a retirement wave that incoming graduates may not fill.² Plus, endocrinologists are unevenly concentrated in urban areas, worsening access issues for rural residents who are more likely to have diabetes in the first place.³ Primary care clinicians are also in short supply, driving referral volume to already-busy specialists.

A recent survey⁴ among endocrinology clinicians explored the harms of these trends:

• 26% of participants said managing patient load is difficult or very difficult, and
• 50% said national endocrinologist shortages have a moderate or considerable negative impact on patients

Meanwhile, reimbursement changes from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have incentivized better outcomes for chronic disease patients, including those with diabetes.⁵ While that's a positive step forward, those payment dynamics are adding another layer of complexity for endocrinologists as they confront high patient volumes and clinician burnout.

So what's a midsize practice to do? With more diabetes patients and fewer clinicians to treat them, caseloads are about to get even higher as reimbursement complexities continue. And yet, there's a critical opportunity tucked in the challenges ahead: Endocrinology teams that embrace new tools and tech will be better prepared to keep up and get paid.

Clinical tools in the endocrinologist's toolbox

The clinical landscape surrounding diabetes is evolving rapidly, bringing new opportunities in advanced treatments and devices.

All the focus has been on GLP-1 agonists. They offer a potential inflection point in endocrinology, not only because of the original indication for diabetes but also because of new ones, such as obesity, which is a top risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes.

Research is validating the hype: 99% of adults with prediabetes and who were overweight or obese were diabetes-free after three years on tirzepatide.⁶ And, already, 1 in 10 Americans have tried GLP-1s for weight loss,⁷ with athenahealth® data showing a 74% increase in GLP-1 prescriptions between 2022 and 2024. By 2030, GLP-1 sales are expected to reach $100 billion⁸ (more than three times the top-selling drug of 2024, pembrolizumab).⁹

But not everyone has access to GLP-1s, considering insurance coverage, supply issues, and label restrictions—and even if they do, not all GLP-1 care is continuous: In a study of more than 6,000 participants, nearly 3 in 4 people experienced at least one disruption in GLP-1 treatment.¹⁰

As such, GLP-1s are not a panacea for diabetes or prediabetes, nor are they meant to be. Fortunately, other clinical tools are revolutionizing endocrinology as well. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), once-weekly insulin¹², cell therapies¹², and other advanced options are part of a continually expanding clinical care toolbox for diabetes patients.

These devices and therapeutics join a new generation of population health management technologies that are helping equip endocrinologists with the insights and support they need to manage the diabetes boom.

Endocrinology software and data-driven care

Even armed with the latest and greatest innovations in diabetes care, endocrinologists can still run into diagnostic, treatment, and reimbursement challenges—especially for a large and growing population. That's where data-driven chronic care management comes in to support clinicians before, during, and after patient encounters.

Population health management tools is a critical piece of that model, with athenaOne® being one such technology that's powering data-driven diabetes care. As an electronic health record (EHR) that’s highly customizable to support endocrinologists, athenaOne can facilitate appointments, medical decision-making, and billing complexity—all in a single solution:

• Schedule-wise, endocrinology practices need a platform that balances slot density with clinician bandwidth—and athenaOne can optimize schedules to book appointments with patient self-service as an option.
• For billing, athenaOne streamlines prior authorizations (PAs), claims, and practice management for better revenue cycle management (RCM)—helping to free up billing teams while facilitating patients' care plans. This may be particularly important for situations that newly require PAs¹³, such as CGMs among certain patients and plans.
• Automated documentation removes a frequently-cited burden¹⁴ from physicians and nurses so that they can be more present in the patient encounter and avoid disruptions known to worsen the patient experience.¹⁵
• Predictive alerting combines a patient's clinical history with applicable guidelines and care practices, such as flagging when a patient might be delayed in A1C testing.
• Quality reporting tools can track designated clinical outcomes against payer requirements in a value-based care model, helping practices get paid while also surfacing potential areas for improvement.
• Care plans are built directly into the patient chart. Care teams don’t have to leave athenaOne to view or update a care plan. This reduces clicks, saves time, and lowers the risk of missing important information.

These capabilities fit within a comprehensive diabetes care management program that goes beyond individual tests, treatments, and technologies toward personalized, patient-centric care. One critical function of that model, athenahealth data has found, is in social determinants of health. Supporting high-risk patients with community resources (such as food or housing assistance) has been shown to narrow care gaps.

Supporting patient engagement and adherence

Diabetes management requires ongoing patient participation, making communication critical to outcomes. Research shows that diabetes patients who perceive their doctors as being good communicators feel more confident in their own self-care.¹⁶ Patient engagement tools, such as those built into athenaOne, enable direct messaging and other outreach to help patients interact with clinical providers, schedulers, and billing staff so that they feel more connected to their everyday care.

Get ready for the diabetes boom

In this moment, endocrinology practices are facing strong volatility. Diabetes incidence is up, specialist talent is down, and providers are doing the best they can in an increasingly complex reimbursement climate.

But clinicians do have reason to be optimistic about the future of diabetes care. Advanced drugs and devices such as GLP-1s and CGMs are shifting what's possible in patients' care plans and quality of life, and physicians are increasingly operating within a data-driven chronic care model that informs clinical and operational decisions.

Software like athenaOne is designed to support endocrinologists as they embrace these changes for better clinical outcomes and operational efficiencies. From a central EHR, clinicians can access population health tools, including remote monitoring, all made easier by an AI-native platform.

That same tool also enables better practice management and RCM for nonclinical staff, in addition to patient engagement to support adherence through portal messaging, scheduling, and medical records access.

The diabetes boom isn't slowing down—but with the right tools, endocrinology practices can turn rising demand into sustainable growth.

See how athenaOne can support endocrine care at scale.