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Volume 1:
No. 2, April 2004
SPECIAL TOPICS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
ORIGINAL RESEARCH: FEATURED
ABSTRACT FROM THE 18TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CHRONIC DISEASE
PREVENTION AND CONTROL
Improving Diabetes Care
With the Collaborative Model: The First North Carolina Diabetes
Collaborative
MS Wolf, J Reaves, DS Porterfield, RM Carlyle, A Wang
Suggested citation for this article: Wolf MS,
Reaves J, Porterfield DS, Carlyle RM, Wang A. Improving diabetes care with
the collaborative model: the first North Carolina Diabetes Collaborative
[abstract].
Prev Chronic Dis [serial online] 2004 Apr [date cited].
Available from: URL: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2004/
apr/03_0034s.htm.
PEER REVIEWED
The planning, implementation, and outcomes of the North Carolina Diabetes
Collaborative, modeled after the Bureau of Primary Health Care's Health
Disparities Collaborative, is described.
The North Carolina Diabetes Collaborative is the result of a partnership
between the North Carolina Diabetes Prevention and Control Program and the
North Carolina Primary Health Care Association. An advisory council made up
of strategic statewide partners complements this partnership. Fourteen teams
from various health care settings across North Carolina were recruited to
participate in this intervention, which focuses on improving the management
of diabetes.
Participants receive technical assistance that includes learning
sessions, monthly conference calls, distribution lists, and feedback on
monthly reports. Teams address system-level changes and use monthly reports
to track improvements in delivery of care and health outcomes. An electronic
database helps the teams to identify effective interventions and to track
outcomes using 8 required measures.
Improvements have been documented in the 8 required measures. Improvement
has been most remarkable in the number of patients who have had their HbA1c
levels checked twice per year, the number of patients with blood pressure
levels below 135/85 mm Hg, the number of patients receiving foot exams, and
those with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels below 100 mg/dL.
During the first 6 months, the teams entered data on 907 patients into their disease
management registries.
The North Carolina Diabetes Collaborative shows promise of increasing the
quality of care for patients in participating sites. Next steps include
obtaining funding for future collaboratives; expanding content area to
include cardiovascular disease; incorporating feedback to improve the
collaborative; and expanding the number of participants.
Corresponding Author: Marti Wolf, RN, MPH, Co-Director, North Carolina
Diabetes Collaborative, North Carolina Primary Health Care Association, 875
Walnut St, Suite 150, Cary, NC 27511. Telephone: 919-469-5701. E-mail: wolfm@ncphca.org.
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