Improving Diabetes Care Delivery in an Integrated Health Clinic

Abstract

Abstract People with serious mental illness (SMI), as a population, are typically underserved and likely to have barriers to accessing primary care services. When these patients do seek primary care, it is often fragmented and communication between multiple providers lacks efficiency and coordination. A co-located primary care clinic was recently established in a large behavioral health setting to improve access to primary care for this population. Prior to opening the clinic, of 499 client survey respondents, 82 indicated they needed help managing their diabetes. Multiple providers with varied backgrounds are providing care in the new clinic setting where potential gaps in the delivery of diabetes related care are likely. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the care provided to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the primary care clinic by multiple providers compared to the standard of medical care for diabetes management according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 2015 guidelines. A retrospective chart review using a standards checklist based on the ADA guidelines was implemented to evaluate care provided by a number of different providers. Identified gaps in care, potential improvements in documentation and use of the checklist as a tool for improving delivery of care to meet standards were shared with providers in a post-study discussion.