A diabetic clinic in family practice

Most diabetic patients in a family practice were found to be attending the hospital diabetic clinic irregularly. Audit of the medical files revealed that the management of diabetes by the family practitioner had been uneven, especially as regards regular check-up to detect the onset of complications of diabetes. A regular diabetic clinic was therefore organized within the family practice and within two months all 21 patients currently receiving medication for diabetes had attended for review. This resulted in some improvement in the control of serum glucose levels, but the main outcome was the finding of four cases of diabetic retinopathy, seven of hypertriglyceridemia and 15 in need of chiropody. It is suggested that a local clinic not only enables more diabetic patients to be reached and monitored than a distant centralized specialist service, but that it can also provide the continuity of care which is valued by both the diabetic patient and his family.