The Article in Brief

Quality of preventive care for diabetes: effects of visit frequency and competing demands

Joshua J. Fenton, MD, MPH , and colleagues

Background Regular medical care can prevent many common diabetes complications. Despite the effectiveness of preventive care for diabetes, however, many patients do not receive recommended diabetes services. This study examined how often a group of diabetes patients visited the doctor, and for what reasons, in order to shed light on why some patients do not receive sufficient diabetes care.

What This Study Found Diabetes patients who do not visit the doctor often are less likely to receive timely diabetes-related preventive care. Patients who make frequent doctor visits but for lower-priority health conditions are more likely to have a delay in their diabetes-related preventive services.

Implications

• Office systems and other innovations may help primary care offices increase the delivery of diabetes services to patients who don’t visit the doctor often, and to those who visit for conditions that a