title: Is diabetes management in primary care improving clinical outcomes? A study in Qatar.
abstract: There has been little research into the effectiveness of primary-care diabetes clinics in the Middle East. This study in Qatar compared patient outcomes at a primary-care facility with a dedicated diabetes clinic and one without. Using a cross-sectional method, data on demographics, diabetes status and 6 clinical outcomes of diabetes care were collected from the records of patients who visited the clinics during 2012. Diabetes management in both facilities improved clinical outcomes over the 1-year observation period. The mean total cholesterol of patients attending the special clinic (n = 102) decreased significantly from 4.66 to 4.27 mmol/dL and LDL cholesterol from 3.42 to 3.22 mmol/dL. The LDL cholesterol of patients receiving standard care (n = 108) reduced significantly from 3.41 to 3.22 mmol/dL and HDL cholesterol increased from 0.83 to 0.87 mmol/dL. Inter-provider comparisons indicated that the outcomes in the facility with a diabetes clinic were not superior to those in the facility with standard care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Services, Qatar Petroleum, Doha, Qatar. mochtar@qp.com.qa.|Messaied Medical Centre, Messaied, Qatar.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mochtar
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Services, Qatar Petroleum, Doha, Qatar.|Messaied Medical Centre, Messaied, Qatar.
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Al-Monjed
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000628:therapy*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011780:Qatar