Diabetes Patients Get Better Care When Seen by Their Usual Provider

Diabetes Patients Get Better Care When Seen by Their Usual Provider

 

Diabetes Patients Get Better Care When Seen by Their Usual Provider

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) sent this bulletin at 03/21/2013 03:07 PM EDT

Group practice patients with diabetes were more likely to get appropriate care when they saw their usual clinician rather than another provider. People who saw their primary care provider (PCP) for a new health problem were more likely to receive lifestyle counseling and medication changes for poorly managed diabetes. In contrast, patients who saw clinicians that were filling in for their primary care provider were less likely to receive additional treatments for their diabetes.

This research was performed using natural language processing technology that examined hundreds of thousands of providers’ notes in just a matter of hours. Natural language processing technology is increasingly considered to be a cost- and time-efficient approach to analysis of clinical encounters, offering the advantages of large sample sizes at a much lower cost than traditional paper-based methods.

“Performance of Primary Care Physicians and Other Providers on Key Process Measures in the Treatment of Diabetes” appeared in the January issue of Diabetes Care.

Select to access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23230095.

Learn more about how to improve primary care. Visit AHRQ’s Prevention & Chronic Care Program at: http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/prevenix.