Diabetes Referrals at a Veterans Administration Tertiary Facility: Who are the patients and why are they referred?

Nguyen et al characterize patients with diabetes that are referred to an endocrinology service at a Veterans Administration tertiary facility and determine the reasons for referral. Results show that poor glycemic control was the predominant reason for referral. The number of endocrine referrals from physicians and midlevel providers is approximately equal, but the mean HbA1c is significantly higher in patients referred from primary care providers (9.2%) compared with patients referred from specialists (7.4%).