In addition, providers for the CCM intervention patients were encouraged to schedule diabetic patients' routine appointments to coincide with "diabetes days" so they could take advantage of the services of a visiting certified diabetes educator on site. They also were encouraged to refer their diabetic patients to the on-site diabetes educator for more information whenever possible. Patients in the provider-education only group benefited from diabetes care knowledge shared with other clinicians during a provider-education session.
Although a diabetes educator was not placed in these practices, an educator was available for consultation over a six-month study period. The remaining patients received standard care.
"These results are important, as they demonstrate that a multifaceted intervention can improve diabetes outcomes in an underserved urban community," the authors write. "This study suggests that this model for improving diabetes care in the community is feasible and effective and could be applied to other chronic illnesses."
Currently, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hosts 21 ADA-approved diabetes self-management training programs during which diabetes educators also rotate to primary care practices on a routine basis.
Nationally, diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death, according to the ADA. Many people first become aware of the disease when confronted with one of its life-threatening complications such as heart disease, blindness, high blood pressure, stroke, kidney disease or circulatory problems leading to amputation. Women who develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy have a substantially increased risk of acquiring the disorder later in life, and women who
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4-Apr-2006