The effect on patient outcomes remained less clear as these were rarely assessed .
Arrangements for follow-up ( organisational intervention ) also showed a favourable effect on process outcomes .
Multiple interventions in which patient education was added or in which the role of the nurse was enhanced also reported favourable effects on patients ' health outcomes .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS Multifaceted professional interventions can enhance the performance of health professionals in managing patients with diabetes .
Organisational interventions that improve regular prompted recall and review of patients ( central computerised tracking systems or nurses who regularly contact the patient ) can also improve diabetes management .
The addition of patient-oriented interventions can lead to improved patient health outcomes .
BACKGROUND Diabetes is a common chronic disease that is increasingly managed in primary care .
Different systems have been proposed to manage diabetes care .
Increasing Prescribed Office Visits: A Controlled Trial in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus
Patients who fail to show for scheduled visits or who fail to contact their provider when warning symptoms occur pose important problems for the primary care physician . A group of interventions was examined to determine the effectiveness in increasing the number of prescribed office visits in patients with diabetes mellitus . This group of interventions included mailed packets with information on how to use the clinic , providers ' names and phone numbers , after-hours phone numbers , a list of early warning signs , and a booklet on managing diabetes mellitus ; mailed appointment reminders ; and intense followup of visit failures for prompt rescheduling .  Eight hundred fifty-nine patients on drug therapy for diabetes mellitus were stratified by risk of hospitalization and r and omly assigned within strata to control and intervention groups . The intervention group received all interventions . After 1 year , the intervention group averaged 12 % more total contacts than the control group ( 5.8 vs. 5.2 , P = 0.01 ) , due largely to an increase in kept scheduled visits ( 4.1 vs. 3.6 , P = 0.006 ) . These effects were greatest in those patients at higher risk of hospitalization . Also , visit failures were reduced only in high-risk patients . The effect of the interventions did not diminish during the year of study . This systematic and repetitive intervention appears effective in increasing prescribed office visits and is especially effective in patients requiring more frequent care
The effect on patient outcomes remained less clear as these were rarely assessed .
Arrangements for follow-up ( organisational intervention ) also showed a favourable effect on process outcomes .
Multiple interventions in which patient education was added or in which the role of the nurse was enhanced also reported favourable effects on patients ' health outcomes .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS Multifaceted professional interventions can enhance the performance of health professionals in managing patients with diabetes .
Organisational interventions that improve regular prompted recall and review of patients ( central computerised tracking systems or nurses who regularly contact the patient ) can also improve diabetes management .
The addition of patient-oriented interventions can lead to improved patient health outcomes .
BACKGROUND Diabetes is a common chronic disease that is increasingly managed in primary care .
Different systems have been proposed to manage diabetes care .