Clinicians submitting data to the Diabetes Collaborative Registry regularly adhere to four out of seven diabetes quality metrics when treating patients with diabetes, according to registry data presented at the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA’s) 76th Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.

In the first-ever research presented from the registry, researchers looked at adherence to seven quality metrics at 236 practices with 861,699 patients. Results found that practices checked if patients are on high blood pressure medication 73 percent of the time; screened for kidney disease 70 percent of the time; checked if patients had a blood pressure less than 140/90 mm Hg and were prescribed at least two antihypertensive medications 89 percent of the time; and screened for smoking and counseled smokers to quit 85 percent of the time. The lowest performance levels were seen when checking blood glucose levels and performing an eye or foot exam at 20 percent, 11 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

The low rates of performance on some performance measures may be attributable to lack of documentation, true gaps in care or a combination of these factors, all of which indicate opportunities for providers, including cardiology practices, to improve chronic disease management for patients with diabetes. Researchers also acknowledged that lower adherence to some measures may be because a majority of patients in the initial registry cohort were managed by cardiology providers. These providers typically would not conduct a blood glucose test or eye and foot exams.

The registry also released baseline data showing a high burden of cardiovascular risk factors and complications among patients. This reflects both the cardiovascular risk associated with type 2 diabetes and the large number of cardiology practices contributing patients to the first cohort in the registry.

“Highlighting variability in diabetes care is one of the key objectives of the registry,” says Mikhail N. Kosiborod, MD, FACC, senior author of the study and steering committee chair of the Diabetes Collaborative Registry. “Our hope is that over time the lessons we learn will foster more of a team-based approach to diabetes management, which may ultimately result in better quality and outcomes for patients with diabetes.”

Meanwhile, the Diabetes Collaborative Registry recently reached the milestone of 1 million unique patients with diabetes. “Achieving the important milestone of 1 million patients enrolled defines the Diabetes Collaborative Registry as a benchmarking registry that can inform research initiatives focusing on unique opportunities to improve patients’ quality of care in the U.S. and beyond,” adds Niklas Hammar, PhD, senior director of Global Medical Affairs at AstraZeneca and member of the Registry’s Stakeholder Advisory Panel.  

Keywords: Antihypertensive Agents, Benchmarking, Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure, Blood Pressure Determination, Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Disease Management, Documentation, Hypertension, Kidney Diseases, New Orleans, Registries, Risk Factors, Smoking, Diabetes Collaborative Registry, Metabolic Syndrome, Diabetes Collaborative Registry, National Cardiovascular Data Registries

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