Abstract
A prospective six‐year study of all diabetic patients in a single practice was conducted to investigate the benefits to patients which resulted from the introduction of a nurse‐run diabetic review service. The opportunity of the audit was also used to determine the capital and running costs of such a service. After initial expenditure of around £200–;300, GPs can expect to devote a total of 10‐15 minutes of their own time and 20‐30 minutes of their nurse's time to providing an annual check to each of their diabetic patients. Using our assumptions, this amounts to a cost to the practice of £4 per nurse review. Further costs beyond this minimum level are calculable for individual practices based on the data presented. Benefits to patients were evident for individual patients whose retinopathy or foot lesions were detected early and in the increasing numbers of examinations performed. It is possible for general practice teams to coordinate a comprehensive review service for their diabetic patients.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 47-50 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Practical Diabetes International |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 1991 |
Keywords
- diabetes mellitus
- general practice
- practice nurse
- practice organisation
