Quality of diabetes care in community health centers

This study assessed the quality of diabetes care in community health centers. In 55 midwestern community health centers, we reviewed the charts of 2865 diabetic adults for American Diabetes Association measures of quality. On average, 70% of the patients in each community health center had measurements of glycosylated hemoglobin, 26% had dilated eye examinations, 66% had diet intervention, and 51% received foot care. The average glycosylated hemoglobin value per community health center was 8.6%. Practice guidelines were independently associated with higher quality of care. Rates of adherence to process measures of quality were relatively low among community health centers, compared with the targets established by the American Diabetes Association.