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 .
[Structured public health quality circle on the topic of diabetes management in general practice].
The efficacy of quality circles has not yet been evaluated in controlled studies in Germany . The Central Research Institute for Ambulatory Health Care in Germany conducted a prospect i ve controlled trial in order to evaluate the effects of structured quality circles on the process of quality ambulatory care for diabetic patients . Following a training for moderators ( two for each quality circle ) two quality circles undertook five sessions . In a representative r and om sample ( 25 diabetic patients per practice ) , the quality of diabetes care was evaluated before and after participation in the quality circles and was compared to the results of a control group without peer review . The participation in a quality circle result ed in a significant and relevant improvement of the quality concerning the detection of diabetes related complications
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 .