Patient Based Strategy to Reduce Errors in Diabetes Care

Overview

This project evaluates a HPMG effort to reduce error rates through customized direct feedback of diabetes quality of care data to diabetes patients and their physicians. HPMG has routinely provided patients with personalized feedback of glucose and cholesterol test results since about 1997. This project will implement and evaluate the impact of this intervention on diabetes medical error rates and resource use.

The project, Patient-Based Strategy to Reduce Errors in Diabetes Care (referred to as MOVES), addresses issues of overuse, under use, or misuse of care for adults with diabetes. This combination research and translation project has been developed as a component of the Pursuing Perfection initiative of HealthPartners Medical Group, with the close collaboration of HPMG leadership. HealthPartners Medical Group is widely regarded as a national leader in diabetes care, with dramatic improvements in both glucose control and cholesterol control over the past 8 years \[Graphs\]. The MOVES study is attempting to activate patients with diabetes to be more involved in their care. To help patients do this, HPMG sends patients a customized summary of their care. The summary includes a graph of recent glucose and cholesterol test results and specific suggestions that may improve care. In many cases, a visit with the patient's personal physician is encouraged to assure ongoing progress towards important evidence-based goals in diabetes care. Physicians also receive a matched communication that indicates areas for potential improvement and makes technical suggestions for care based on the Staged Diabetes Management © protocols. The project tries to ally expert judgment with the physician's personal knowledge of a patient. It is felt that this approach is critical to assessing what the best improvement strategy may be in each individual case. This inexpensive customized intervention has potential to be widely disseminated and can be seamlessly integrated with other interventions to further achievement of clinical goals. The results are relevant to patients, clinicians, payers, and policymakers.

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