AJPM Focus (02/01/25) Vol. 4, No. 1 Shook, Lisa M.; House, Bailey; Farrell, Christina Bennett; et al.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) affects about 100,000 people in the United States, but many primary care providers (PCPs) are not knowledgeable about the disease. In an effort to increase patients' access to high-quality care, federal partners collaborated with the Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Demonstration Program grantees to develop a national Project ECHO telementoring program targeting PCPs. A national recruiting strategy was created to enlist PCPs in the Sickle Cell Disease Training and Mentoring Program (STAMP) telementoring program. The curriculum included didactic presentations about SCD management especially for PCPs, with 12 sessions over 6 months. Among the more than 700 participants, however, there were few PCPs — most were hematologists and community-based advocates with an interest in SCD. "STAMP's attendee participation and the lack of engagement by PCPs were unable to significantly show an increase in interest or willingness by PCPs to learn to co-manage SCD care with specialists," the researchers report.

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