Diabetes self-management education improves medication utilization and retinopathy screening in the elderly

Abstract

AimsTo evaluate the effect of diabetes education program attendance, which provides patients with diabetes self-management education, on prescriptions for cardiovascular risk reduction, prescriptions for diabetes treatments, and visits for retinopathy screening. MethodsA population based cohort study of residents of Ontario, Canada with diagnosed diabetes aged ≥65 years was performed using administrative databases. Diabetes education program attendance was identified using a registry of visits to all diabetes education programs in the province in 2006. Using propensity score methods, 22,606 diabetes education program attendees were matched to an equal number of non-attendees. The proportions of patients with prescriptions filled and with ophthalmology/optometry visits were compared. ResultsPatients attending diabetes education programs had greater utilization of statins (70.6%) than non-attendees (69.4%, p<0.0001). Diabetes education program attendance was also associated with greater utilization of glucose lowering medications (83.7% vs. 82.0%, p<0.0001), antihypertensive medications (90.2% vs. 89.7%, p<0.0001), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers (79.8% vs. 78.9% p<0.0001), and glucose monitoring strips (82.2% vs. 65.6%, p<0.0001); and visits to ophthalmology/optometry (78.7% vs. 72.7%, p<0.0001). ConclusionsDiabetes self-management education at diabetes education programs is associated with better quality of care in the elderly in Ontario.