Implementing diabetes care guidelines in long term care

The objectives of this article are to (1) describe the outcomes of a diabetes care program in a long term care facility dedicated to diabetes excellence and (2) compare the relevant outcome variables of research published between 2007 and 2012 with the results found in the studied facility.

Three-year retrospective chart review of the facility's residents with comparison to extant literature.

A total of 224 resident charts within the studied facility were reviewed. Residents with a diagnosis of diabetes, or who were on diabetes medications, or whose fasting blood sugars exceeded 126 mg/dL on 2 occasions, and whose length of stay exceeded 6 months, were tracked for adherence to diabetes guidelines (n = 48). Participant outcomes from relevant studies in the literature were compared to these 48 participants' outcomes.

All levels of staff in the studied facility were educated in general diabetes care. A nurse practitioner was contracted to provide medical care for all diabetic residents (with primary care provider approval). A scorecard for adherence to diabetes guidelines was completed by the nurse practitioner. Over a 3-year period following the education program and scorecard implementation, a chart review of all residents was completed by a consulting diabetes educator/nurse practitioner/nurse faculty member and 6 undergraduate nursing students.

In general, the nursing home in the present study compared favorably with other relevant studies, demonstrating lower A1C levels, tracking blood sugars more regularly, monitoring blood pressure and lipids more regularly, having a greater percentage of patients on lipid-lowering medications among those in need, more appropriate use of sliding scale insulin, greater adherence to recommendations regarding diet, and had more patients who fit criteria on preventive anticoagulation.

The results for the studied facility were very similar, often better, when compared with the most current nursing home literature. Areas of weakness provided focused strategic planning for the facility. Regrettably, the research is sparse, and evidence supporting guideline adherence data is often missing, making data comparison difficult. This model of care, linking health care agencies with academia, could offer a supportive and affordable method for identifying responses to evidence-based care guidelines.

This narrative review points to the need for continued work in the application of evidence-based guidelines in long term care, specifically in the area of interventions that must be adjusted to the needs of the nursing home population, with increased awareness in maintaining or improving quality of life.