Improving Diabetes Control Using Shared Medical Appointments

• Published in: The American journal of medicine Vol. 126; no. 12; pp. 1043 - 1044
• Main Authors: Guirguis, Alexander B., PharmD, Lugovich, Joan, RN, Jay, Jennifer, MS, RD, Sanders, Kathryn A., PhD, Cioffi, Seth T., PharmD, Jeffery, Sean M., PharmD, Kravetz, Jeffrey D., MD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2013; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Subjects: Aged; Appointments and Schedules; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus - therapy; Disease management; Health care delivery; Humans; Internal Medicine; Middle Aged; Patient education; Patient Education as Topic - methods; Patient Education as Topic - organization & administration; United States; United States Department of Veterans Affairs; Veterans; United States
• ISSN: 0002-9343; 1555-7162
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.06.019

The management of diabetes mellitus is often complex and requires significant self-management skills. The American Diabetes Association recommends that patients with diabetes receive self-management education and support. Effectively teaching patients to apply self-management skills poses a significant challenge. To varying degrees, patients with diabetes often need to use healthy eating recommendations, self-monitoring of blood glucose, adherence to medication regimens that include oral or injectable agents, and attendance to specialist appointments. A shared medical appointment is a format for healthcare delivery that allows patients to relate their experiences with others who share similar circumstances and challenges. In addition, shared medical appointments allow patients to access an interdisciplinary team in a short period of time. Several controlled studies have demonstrated benefits of shared medical appointments in improving diabetes-related end points compared with usual care. We sought to assess the effectiveness of implementation of a diabetes group shared medical appointment in a veteran population. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]