Prevention and Chronic Condition Management:
Diabetes Care: HbA1c Testing
What are we measuring and why?
Diabetes is a serious chronic illness which has become an epidemic in the United States. Diabetes affects the entire body, partly through its potentially harmful effects on blood vessels. The The Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) blood test indicates to physicians what the patient’s overall blood sugar control has been in the previous three months. Better control of blood sugar means the patient is likely to have fewer complications from diabetes. If the patient's sugars are not well controlled, this test can help the physician know that the patient may need additional treatments and education on how to manage his or her diabetes. This measure shows the percentage of patients with diabetes who have had at least one HbA1c test in the past calendar year.
How are we doing and how do we compare to best practice?
For this measure, our practices’ performance is 95%, which exceeds both the Massachusetts State average and the National 90th percentile, making Partners Community practices leaders in screening patients with diabetes.
What are we doing to improve?
Partners physicians use the reminders and scheduling systems that work best to make sure patients have their blood sugar levels checked regularly. Systems making this easier are the electronic medical record and other electronic systems that can identify patients at risk or who have not been tested, and then help the physicians send a reminder to these patients or test them at their next appointment.
Partners Community Healthcare, Inc. (PCHI) is the network of primary care and specialty physicians and other health professionals who make up our ambulatory care network. To learn more about PCHI, please visit the About Partners page of this web site.
Charts for Diabetes Care: HbA1c Testing
- Current Scores
- Current Scores
Diabetes Care: HbA1c Testing
Partners HealthCare Data Period: January 2010 – December 2010
Partners HealthCare Source: Partners Community HealthCare, Inc.
Mass. State Average Source: Massachusetts Health Quality Partners
National 90th Percentile Source: Massachusetts Health Quality Partners
Diabetes Care: HbA1c Testing
Partners HealthCare Data Period: January 2010 – December 2010
Partners HealthCare Source: Partners Community HealthCare, Inc.
Mass. State Average Source: Massachusetts Health Quality Partners
National 90th Percentile Source: Massachusetts Health Quality Partners