This week is National Diabetes Week, and this year’s campaign will focus on awareness and prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death in Australia, with diabetes as the sixth leading cause and the fastest-growing chronic disease, now costing up to $6 billion a year.

With around two million Australians at high risk of type 2 diabetes, Diabetes Australia says this year’s campaign will include a personal health check website and a range of public and online opportunities to raise awareness.

Also this week, the Australian Primary Care Collaboratives (APCC) Program is marking its tenth year of operation.

The Government-funded initiative has helped more than 320,000 Australians with Type 2 diabetes, by involving their GPs in Australia’s largest quality improvement program.

The APCC Program combines quality-improvement methods with practical training and expert advice in chronic disease treatment.

The people behind the Program say it has proven to be a winning combination that helps general practitioners, nurses and practice administration teams to provide best practise, proactive care to their patients with chronic diseases.

General practices and other health services who have participated in this specialised training have more than 320,000 patients with diabetes on their books.

Dr Alison Edwards, a GP in rural Port Broughton, South Australia, says her practice has seen ongoing benefits from applying the APCC methods since 2006.

“In a busy rural general practice it is very easy to get overly focussed on just meeting the day to day patient demands and reacting to whatever is presented,” she said.

“The APCC Program walked us through ways to work smarter, and work more effectively as a team.

“We’ve used the model to make great improvements to the way we provide care for our patients with diabetes. We know that the changes we’ve made mean our patients are getting the best possible care, and have better health outcomes as a result.”

More information on the APCC Program is available at its website, and a a rundown of the National Diabetes Week 2014 campaign is accessible here.