[Quality of diabetes management in the free Saxony state--scientific evaluation of the Saxony model for managing diabetes. EVA group].
After the societal change in the "New Federal States" of Germany Saxon diabetologists developed an integrated concept for care of diabetic patients: the Saxon Care Model (SCM). It aims at quality assurance in diabetes care and is based on services by cooperating general practitioners and specialists. This model was evaluated. First results were obtained describing the quality of care for 510 patients at baseline. This sample was collected at two specialized diabetologists (level 2), two specialized out-patient units at universities (level 2) and two general practitioners (level 1). The design of the study is a descriptive evaluation. Process and outcome quality at specialized and primary care units working according to the SCM is relatively high. HbA1c measurements were taken in order to quantify outcome quality. The results for primary as well as specialized care units ranged from acceptable to very good. They unfortunately cannot be generalized. The patients expressed that their quality of life was limited only scarcely. The presented preliminary results indicate a high effectiveness of the SCM with regard to relevant process-related outcome-variables. The large variance between single practices of both levels demonstrates that deficits in early diagnosis of diabetes-related complications still exist. On the other hand this points towards resources of quality improvement. The influence of quality assuring measures, e.g. quality circles, will be assessed in a three-year follow up.
Schulze
J
J
Medizinische Klinik III, Universitätsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus Technische Universität Dresden.
Kunath
H
H
Rothe
U
U
Range
U
U
Prettin
C
C
Verlohren
H J
HJ
Fischer
S
S
D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000639:trends*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005544:Forecasting; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000639:trends*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000639:trends*; D012922:Social Change