A model for quality assessment in primary health care using the tracer condition technique with insulin treated diabetes as one of the tracers.
OBJECTIVE
To find a method for quality assessment in primary health care and to apply this method on a defined disease.


METHODS
General practitioners and hospital doctors worked out a programme for evaluating the quality of outpatient care of patients with insulin treated diabetes as one of five tracers. An expert committee comprising experienced general practitioners and hospital doctors compared two health centres with one outpatient medical department. Data were collected during a defined period combined with a one-year retrospective view, official statistics on medical care, and a questionnaire completed by the patients.


METHODS
Two primary health care centres and one outpatient medical department in southwestern Sweden.


METHODS
243 insulin treated diabetic patients attending the hospital and 87 insulin treated patients attending the health centres.


RESULTS
There were no difficulties for the expert panel to agree on which indicators were to be studied. The expert panel concluded that there was no difference between the quality of the two levels of care studied.


CONCLUSIONS
Medical audit was a useful method for evaluating medical quality. Co-operation between hospital doctors and general practitioners was of great value for evaluation of the quality of primary health care.
Lindström
K
K
Primary Health Care Centre of Habo, Sweden.
Berg
L
L
Rylander
B
B
Hagman
A
A
Olsson
L
L
Bengtsson
C
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000628:therapy*; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017146:Models, Organizational; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D018024:Peer Review, Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013548:Sweden