Structured diabetes care in general practices – effects on organization of care and clinical outcomes

PhD ceremony: Ms. A.S. Fokkens, 14.45 uur, Aula Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Structured diabetes care in general practices – effects on organization of care and clinical outcomes

Promotor(s): prof. S.A. Reijneveld

Faculty: Medical Sciences

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition which affects a large and increasing number of people. The main goal of diabetes care is to reduce the risk of complications, in particular by reducing the total cardiovascular risk. Diabetes care is complex and the demand on health care services is considerable. Care should be organized in such a way that it can fulfill the high demands. The focus of this thesis is on the effects of structured diabetes care, which includes both the structure of care and the education of patients and health care professionals.

The results show that structured diabetes care has positive effects on the organization of care and the clinical outcomes. Patients received more education and checkups, and experienced better clinical outcomes. The healthcare professionals reported more cooperation and less referral to secondary care. In addition, the results show that patient data collected from a structured registration program can be used for research purposes and quality assessment. The general conclusion is that structured diabetes care appears to be a good basis for further development and can possibly be extended to patients with other chronic illnesses in general practice.