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 .
Evaluation of general practice computer templates. Lessons from a pilot randomised controlled trial.
We conducted a pilot r and omised trial of computerised templates for the management of asthma and diabetes in general practice in six general practice s in North London . Uptake of the guidelines by general practitioners and practice nurses was assessed using qualitative ( semi-structured interviews design ed to assess the users ' views ) and quantitative ( change in use of the template during the study period ) outcome measures . The practice nurses used the templates frequently but general practitioners rarely used them . Several reasons were offered for non-use of the templates , such as the length of the template and non-involvement in the care of asthma or diabetes . Despite this , however , health professionals were favourably disposed to the use of templates for general clinical care . Pilot investigations of computerised templates are best achieved by observational or quasi-experimental methods rather than a r and omised controlled trial . The use of both qualitative and quantitative methods in this study allowed exploration of the barriers to use of computers
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 .