Work-load and outcomes of diabetes care in general practice

The effect of starting a general practice diabetes clinic on practice work-load and intermediate outcome measures was studied retrospectively using patient records. The 35 diabetic patients included had been diagnosed greater than 4 years before the diabetes clinic started and were followed for 6 years in the clinic, together with a group of age- and sex-matched controls. There was a significant rise in the consultation rates of the diabetic patients, due to an increase in diabetes-related consultations, from 3.9 consultations yr-1 to 6.7 consultations yr-1 (p less than 0.001). There was a fall in HbA1c level of 0.22 (99% CI 0.13, 0.32) %Hb yr-1 over the 6 years and in body mass index of 0.37 (99% CI 0.22, 0.52) kg m-2 yr-1, suggesting an improvement in diabetes management.