DIALOG: co-ordination of the annual review process through a District Diabetes Register linked to the FHSA database

A working party was established by the Population Screening Project Board (UK), in conjunction with the Family Health Services Computer Unit, in order to develop a system for diabetes care (DIALOG) that would create a District Diabetes Register and prompt the process of diabetes annual review across both primary and secondary care. To simplify the creation and maintenance of the Diabetes Register, DIALOG has been designed to interface with the Family Health Services Authority population register to enable realtime download of demographic data. The system will also accumulate clinical information for the continuing audit diabetes services according to the data items specified in the standard UK diabetes dataset and can deliver detailed statistical analyses. Data input can be manual or electronic. DIALOG has been created to complement and integrate with existing diabetes information systems in primary and secondary care; it is not intended to be a clinic management system. It has the potential to become a National Diabetes Register.