Quality of care for patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 in ‘model practices’ in Slovenia – first results
Article Category: Research article
Published Online: May 10, 2016
Page range: 179 - 184
Received: Aug 07, 2015
Accepted: Feb 15, 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjph-2016-0023
© National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Background
A new organisation at the primary level, called model practices, introduces a 0.5 full-time equivalent nurse practitioner as a regular member of the team. Nurse practitioners are in charge of registers of chronic patients, and implement an active approach into medical care. Selected quality indicators define the quality of management. The majority of studies confirm the effectiveness of the extended team in the quality of care, which is similar or improved when compared to care performed by the physician alone. The aim of the study is to compare the quality of management of patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 before and after the introduction of model practices.
Methods
A cohort retrospective study was based on medical records from three practices. Process quality indicators, such as regularity of HbA1c measurement, blood pressure measurement, foot exam, referral to eye exam, performance of yearly laboratory tests and HbA1c level before and after the introduction of model practices were compared.
Results
The final sample consisted of 132 patients, whose diabetes care was exclusively performed at the primary care level. The process of care has significantly improved after the delivery of model practices. The most outstanding is the increase of foot exam and HbA1c testing. We could not prove better glycaemic control (p>0.1). Nevertheless, the proposed benchmark for the suggested quality process and outcome indicators were mostly exceeded in this cohort.
Conclusion
The introduction of a nurse into the team improves the process quality of care. Benchmarks for quality indicators are obtainable. Better outcomes of care need further confirmation.