Greater reliance on information systems in medicine is creating an opportunity to better manage large populations of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and AIDS. At present, however, management of patients with diabetes is hampered by inadequate tracking of patients to ensure compliance with ordered provider and laboratory appointments. Furthermore, many patients with diabetes remain undiagnosed and suffer from silent progression of micro- and macrovascular disease. To improve tracking of diabetic patients and increase compliance with American Diabetes Association guidelines for care, a novel software program and database methodology will be designed with the following features: l) Tracks patients for compliance with disease management protocols over a network of providers; 2) Provide interface for Case Manager to selectively intensify outreach efforts for non-compliant patients; 3) Identifies patients at risk for undetected diabetes so that they may be screened. While the program will be initially tested in a hospital based care facility (Wilford Hall Airforce Base, San Antonio, TX), the client- server model used in this program will be readily adaptable to a community practice environment with PCs and internet connectivity.
This research will beta-test and refine our proprietary Diabetes Disease Management Software. While compliance with recommended care is a well recognized problem in diabetes management, it is also a problem in management of other chronic diseases such as asthma, heart failure, AIDS, and hypertension. The software is readily adaptable to management of these other diseases. Furthermore, the client-server model used for our software will enable deployment in a community based practice where providers use a PC and are connected with the server via the Internet. The military has expressed interest in our product for multiple disease management protocols if this beta test is successful.
