As automated insulin delivery (AID) systems reshape diabetes care, harnessing their full potential requires more than device development — it requires shared expertise, open collaboration, and a cohesive network that empowers both clinicians and people who use these devices every day.

One way that takes shape is through focused working groups, or spaces where experts from across the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative (T1DX-QI) come together to tackle specific challenges in diabetes care.

Among them, the Hybrid Closed Loop Working Group has become a key forum for advancing the use of AID systems and improving how clinics implement, track, and support these technologies in real-world care.

At its core, those involved share a common goal: helping more people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) access and successfully use AID systems to reduce the disease burden and improve care outcomes.

“This working group brings together clinicians, data experts, and QI leaders across the Collaborative to focus on improving equitable access to and outcomes of AID systems,” explained Trevon Wright, MHA.

Led by experts across pediatric and adult care

The Hybrid Closed Loop Working Group is co-led by clinicians representing both pediatric and adult diabetes care — an intentional structure that reflects the different challenges of implementing and supporting AID systems across patient populations.

Emily Coppedge, NP, — Chief Nurse Practitioner for the Pediatric Subspecialty Practice at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and CDCES in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology at Weill Cornell Medicine

Carol Levy, MD — Adult endocrinologist and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Bone Disease at Mount Sinai Health System

The group creates space to share perspectives across both pediatric and adult care, said Dr. Carol Levy, and that collaboration optimizes and individualizes the use of hybrid closed-loop systems for people with diabetes.

Turning shared challenges into shared solutions

The Hybrid Closed Loop Working Group meets monthly. It draws participation from across the Collaborative, representing a wide range of roles in diabetes care — from physicians and nurses to data analysts and quality improvement leaders.

Meetings are designed as collaborative learning environments where T1DX-QI clinicians can freely share what’s working — and what isn’t — when it comes to implementing AID systems.

“It’s an excellent platform to have clinical discussions on actually utilizing these devices and to implement new strategies,” said Emily Coppedge, NP. Those conversations help teams reach more patients, including those who may be harder to engage.

Rather than operating as a traditional committee, the group functions as a knowledge hub, with members sharing clinic-specific initiatives, outcomes, and experiences.

While clinics may share how they’ve increased hybrid closed-loop adoption, others offer insights into workflows and EMR device-use tracking. These exchanges can help centers replicate successful strategies already in place at other sites.

“The goal is always: What can people take from this?” Wright said. “It’s not just about meeting — it’s about whether the discussion leads to something meaningful that can be applied in practice.”

That emphasis on practical application is what keeps participation strong — and ideas moving beyond discussion into action.

From discussion to real-world impact

While many participants share their clinic-based learnings, the broader goal is to translate those insights into meaningful improvements across the Collaborative — and eventually beyond it.

“Clinicians and trainees are gaining expertise that helps them broaden and optimize how they support patients,” said Dr. Carol Levy.

For Coppedge, the impact is often immediate and practical.

“The topics are very current, and have many strategies that can be implemented,” she said. “Recently, there was a presentation on AID systems in people who learn differently, an area where we have all encountered. I was able to utilize a few ideas from this presentation within the following days with some of my patients.”

These real-time applications highlight how the working group bridges the gap between innovation and everyday clinical care.

Tackling real-world barriers to AID adoption

AID systems — including hybrid closed-loop technology — are transforming diabetes management. That said, implementing these systems in everyday clinical care isn’t always straightforward.

With a range of barriers, including insurance limitations and device coverage, differences in program resources, EMR challenges, gaps in education, and variations in equitable access across race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, there’s a lot to discuss.

The group addresses these issues from multiple angles, combining data insights with frontline clinical experience — focusing not only on access, but on sustained use.

Improving care through data and quality improvement

A major strength of T1DX-QI is its ability to collect and analyze data across participating centers. Working groups help translate that data into actionable improvements.

Through shared workflows, EMR improvements, and best practices, the Hybrid Closed Loop Working Group aims to help centers increase technology use while improving outcomes such as Time in Range and overall quality of care.

At the same time, the group is working toward broader dissemination.

“We have a lot of meaningful work underway,” said Wright. The next step is turning that into something that can be shared more widely.

Making a broader impact

While much of the group’s work takes place within the T1DX-QI, the long-term goal is to broaden the scope of shared learning to improve diabetes care across healthcare systems.

The Hybrid Closed Loop Working Group is open to participants across the T1DX-QI, including trainees — something Levy sees as essential to its continued growth.

This is a space where anyone from the T1DX-QI can join, learn, and contribute, she said.

The hope is to share the working group’s collective insights through published research manuscripts, “change packages” outlining best practices for clinics, and educational resources that can be widely disseminated.

In other words, the lessons learned from this working group will help to inform and improve diabetes care beyond the walls of the participating T1DX-QI centers.

Collaboration matters

For both co-chairs, the value of the working group lies in its collaborative nature.

“Each call exceeds my expectations because of how collaborative the group is,” said Levy. There’s a strong exchange of ideas and perspectives.

Coppedge echoed that sentiment. “Collaborating with teams across the nation — and having meaningful discussions — helps bring these ideas back to your own team.”

That exchange doesn’t just benefit providers; it can directly impact patient care.

“I’ve been caring for people with T1D for over 20 years — and living with T1D since the days before glucose meters,” said Levy. The ability to reduce the burden of care through technologies like sensors and hybrid closed-loop systems has changed dramatically — and this group helps providers make the most of those tools, she explained.

In Sum

At the heart of the Hybrid Closed Loop Working Group is a simple but powerful idea: When clinicians share what they’ve learned, everyone benefits.

By bringing together expertise from across the T1DX-QI, it helps to not only accelerate the adoption of technology but to make daily management safer, easier, and more effective for those living with T1D.