English summary: Results of treatment of type 2 diabetes in primary health care

Background

It is important to start effective treatment of type 2 diabetes as early as possible to prevent complications. In Finland, there is still reasonably little information on the quality of type 2 diabetes care in primary health care. The aim of this study was to describe the follow-up and control of HbA_1c and LDL- cholesterol in North Karelia utilizing data from electronic patient records.

Material and methods

The survey data included all registered type 2 diabetes patients in North Karelia. Altogether there were 10204 patients with type 2 diabetes. From the patient database the dates and results of HbA_1c and LDL-cholesterol measurements were collected for the years 2011 and 2012. Following the treatment recommendations of the Finnish Current Care guidelines the process of follow-up and the level of good management were assessed.

Results

The follow-up of HbA_1c was reasonably good in North Karelia, but there were remarkable differences between the municipalities. Recommended HbA_1c levels of less than 7% were achieved by 71.5% of patients. The level of glycaemic control also differed between municipalities. Follow-up of LDL-cholesterol was not as good as follow-up of HbA_1c . Treatment of high LDL-cholesterol was also less successful. About half of the type 2 diabetes patients (54.6%) had LDL-cholesterol less than 2.5 mmol/l.

Conclusions

In North Karelia the treatment of type 2 diabetes patients seems to be reasonably good. However, considerable differences between municipalities indicate that there is potential to achieve even better quality of care. The regional patient database can be effectively used in assessment of quality of care. This information can be utilized in development of treatment processes. However, this requires further improvement in recording and development of routine reporting too