Evaluation of Diabetic Patient Care Quality in Primary Care

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to evaluate (1) the glycemic regulation, (2) diabetic complications and nephropathy, (3) comorbid diseases (4) the health conditions of the diabetic patients in primary care.

MATERIAL and METHODS: A questionnaire of 65 questions including demographic data, history and physical examination of the patients, and laboratory findings was filled out by 36 family physicians.

RESULTS: Of the 249 patients who were included in the study, 25 (10%) were type1 and 224 (90%) were type 2 diabetic patients. The mean age was 56.14 ± 12.28 (range 14 to 86) years. In the last 6 months, 211 (84.7%) had measured HbA1c values, where the mean value was 7.3 ± 1.5 (range 4.5 to 13.6). More than half of the patients had HbA1c values higher than 7% (113, 53.5%). Proteinuria in spot urine was checked in 73.5% (183) of the patients. The microalbuminuria test was not performed in primary care.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that there are many properties of the diabetic patients that are controlled at low levels including glycemic control, smoking cessation, vaccination status, diet, exercise and diabetic nephropathy diagnosis that could be managed in primary care.