title: Diabetes and managed care: the Lovelace Health System's Episode of Care Program.
abstract: In order to efficiently manage the care of large populations, the health of that population must be evaluated. People identified with chronic medical disorders, such as diabetes mellitus, should have their disease managed proactively in the most cost-effective manner across the continuum of care. Lovelace Health System has established an Episode of Care disease management program based on the principles of clinical practice improvement. The diabetes program is described as an example of this approach to define and monitor best practice and to decrease variation among providers. This approach optimizes the use of health care resources and improves patient outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Lovelace Health Systems, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Friedman
mesh_terms: D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D017050:Episode of Care; D018588:Fee-for-Service Plans; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D009516:New Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011787:Quality of Health Care