title: Use of forms for follow-up of diabetes in general practice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The majority of patients with type 2 diabetes are followed up in general practice. We have investigated whether the use of forms by GPs for recording clinical data contributes to lower mortality and morbidity for this patient group.
  
  
  METHODS
  This systematic review is based on literature searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL and PubMed. We included studies that 1) dealt with adults over 18 years of age with diabetes who were followed up in the primary health service and 2) compared mortality and morbidity with and without the use of forms. We summarised the results qualitatively and using meta-analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven studies were included. One study (1262 participants) investigated the effect of the form on hard endpoints, without finding clear effects on mortality (HR 0.91; 95% CI 0.72-1.14), retinopathy (OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.53-1.52), peripheral nerve injury (OR 0.86; 95% CI 0.57-1.29), myocardial infarction (OR 0.65; 95% CI 0.31-1.35) or stroke (OR 0.89; 95% CI 0.39-2.01). Use of forms appears to have little or no effect on body weight (3 studies), and a small, positive effect on blood pressure (5 studies) and total cholesterol (2 studies).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Published data at present provide no clear answers, but shows that use of forms in the follow-up of patients with diabetes in general practice may tend to contribute to lower mortality and morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Kunnskapssenteret i Folkehelseinstituttet og Senter for kunnskapsbasert praksis Høgskolen i Bergen.
authors.forename: Lillebeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Larun
authors.affiliation: Institutt for helse og samfunn Universitetet i Oslo.
authors.forename: Trine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bjørner
authors.affiliation: Kunnskapssenteret i Folkehelseinstituttet og Institutt for helse og samfunn Universitetet i Oslo.
authors.forename: Atle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fretheim
authors.affiliation: Kunnskapssenteret i Folkehelseinstituttet og Senter for kunnskapsbasert praksis Høgskolen i Bergen.
authors.forename: Kjetil G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Brurberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D057189:Checklist; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000150:complications; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D058006:General Practice; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000150:complications; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012306:Risk; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin