Quality assessment of care provided to patients with type 2 diabetes based on Clinical Practice Guidelines

Diabetes is one of the usual medical problems that had an important negative effect on patient’s health. Researches demonstrate that there is a wide gap between recommended medical actions and received care by patients with diabetes. The aim of study was to assess the quality of care provided to patients with type 2 diabetes.

A cross-sectional study was carried out among 180 people with type 2 diabetes in diabetic’s clinics using convenience sampling method in Tabriz, Iran in 2011. Using a questionnaire we assessed the reported adherence to minimum recommended annual care for 23 processes indicators based on Iranian Diabetes Guidelines.

The proportions of the participants who received recommended annual care for all three top clinical and all six top lifestyle indicators were 82.26% and 43.96%, respectively. For lifestyle and management indicators, reported adherence rates to guidelines were low (38.9% for medication review, 67.7% for self-management evaluation, 55% for physical activity review, and 58.3% for nutrition consultation). From the participants' perspective, most of the participants (87%) had well-controlled diabetes.

A substantial proportion of people with type 2 diabetes indicated receiving suboptimal care and there is a notable gap between their expectations and what they have actually received in most aspects of the provided care.