A countywide primary care annual audit fails to demonstrate an improvement in diabetes care between 1996 and 2001

Abstract

Multipractice audit is widely used and can affect diabetes care. We reviewed the Dorset diabetes audit between 1996 and 2001 to investigate the prevalence of diabetes and to examine if the processes of diabetes care change over time.Data on prevalence of diabetes and the numbers of patients who underwent annual diabetes review, foot and eye screening, and measurement of blood pressure (BP), creatinine and HbA 1c was obtained from 102 out of 109 Dorset general practices (involving a total population of 663 466 people) on an annual basis between 1996 and 2001. The prevalence of diabetes in Dorset rose significantly between 1996 and 2001, adversely affecting diabetes complication screening rates. Screening rates for diabetes complications deteriorated over the five years of our study, after an initial rise when the audit was newly established. Alternative strategies to improve diabetes care may be necessary to change clinical practice.

The management of type 2 diabetes care: the challenge within primary care

“…A data extraction tool was designed with reference to existing audit schedules14–17 and current diabetes standards 1, 18–22. Consultation with medical staff in one practice was used to validate the extraction tool.…”

Diabetes and the new GMS contract — a secondary care perspective

“…We have previously reported in a countywide primary care audit of diabetes management that simply auditing a process does not lead to improvement in how diabetic patients are managed. 4 The Dorset audit showed an initial improvement in the percentage of people having regular checks for diabetes but it reached a plateau and then, there was a suggestion of a downward trend (figure 1).…”