Can Group Visits Improve Outcomes of Veterans With Diabetes

Completed · Phase 3

Conditions studied: Diabetes, Hypertension

In brief

Background: Diabetes is a common, morbid and expensive disease among veterans. Achieving adequate glycemic control and blood pressure control can reduce the devastating complications of diabetes. Because the majority of patients do not achieve adequate control of blood sugar and blood pressure, innovative strategies to improve control are needed. One strategy with great potential for veterans receiving VA care is the group clinic. Group clinics have been developed over the last 5-10 years, and have been shown to improve clinical outcomes and reduce outpatient utilization in geriatric settings. Group medical clinics involve a cohort of 8-20 patients who have 1-2 hour group visits. These clinics are distinguished from traditional group education visits for diabetes by the fact that these visits involve one physician and one or more additional health care professionals, usually a nurse practitioner and/or a pharmacist, and are designed to make management changes for a number of people with the same disease in a short period of time. The effect of group medical clinics on blood sugar, blood pressure, and the cost of diabetes care, is unknown. Objectives: Our primary objectives in this project are to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a group visit intervention in improving rates of control of diabetes and high blood pressure in patients with both illnesses.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00286741

Run by

US Department of Veterans Affairs

People needed

239

Starts

2006-06-01

Expected to finish

2009-01-01

Last updated by the study team

2019-01-09

Who can join

Age: any. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Primary care at one of two participating sites,
• HbA1c >= 7.5%, Systolic BP > 140 OR Diastolic BP > 90 on 2 consecutive measurements

You may not qualify if…

• Primary care provider excludes patient from study, -Patient states that primary care is shared with non-VA primary care provider, -New enrollment in endocrine clinic within the last 6 months, -Patient is reluctant to participate in group visit for any reason, -Reduced life expectancy, as determined by any of the following: -New York Heart Association Class IV congestive heart failure, -Lung disease requiring supplemental oxygen, -End-stage renal disease on dialysis, -Current malignancy with any evidence of disease or currently undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy, -Cirrhosis of the liver, or -AIDS (HIV disease does not exclude a patient in the absence of an AIDS diagnosis), -Five or more errors on Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire, Psychotic illness with hospitalization within three years prior to enrollment

Where it is running

• Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC — Durham, North Carolina, United States
• Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, Richmond, VA — Richmond, Virginia, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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