Quality of care in type 2 diabetes in Iran; a cross-sectional study using patient-level data

Appropriate service delivery, access to high quality of cares and optimal management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) can decrease the risk of micro and macro vascular complications and mortality. Therefore, monitoring the quality of diabetes care, including keeping glycemic levels at an optimal level, is crucial. The aim of this study was to evaluate processes and outcome-related quality of care indicators, in T2DM using retrospective patient-level data from 2013 to 2017 in 15 Tertiary Diabetes Care Centers in Iran.

A retrospective observational study was conducted among 1985 T2DM patients at public, semipublic and private diabetes centers. Annual tests for HbA1c, serum lipid (LDL), and screening for nephropathy were used to evaluate process-related indicators; and intermediate biomedical markers including HbA1c, blood pressure (BP), and LDL cholesterol, were used to assess outcome-related indicators.

Data were extracted from 15 diabetes centers in five provinces in Iran. 62.7% of the patients were female, and the mean duration of diabetes in the patients was 14.7 years. Evaluation of process-related indicators showed that only 9% of patients took the HbA1c test. The percentage of the patients without annual low-density lipoprotein (LDL) test decreased from 13% in 2013 to 7% in 2017. The results of achieving to all indicators concurrently (ABC care) showed that less than 2% of the patients met the criteria of optimal process-related quality indicators. The mean percentage of the patients with HbA1c under 7%, blood pressure (BP) less than 130/80 mmHg, and LDL less than 100 mg^/dl in the selected provinces were 32.4, 55, and 71 respectively. However, the average of total achievement in ABC goals was 14.2%.

Our findings showed that the management of T2DM in all selected provinces was far from the optimal control in both processes and outcome-related indicators and therefore needs serious consideration and improvement.