Aim: To evaluate the quality of health care received by diabetics.
Design: External audit by means of retrospective record review. SITE: Ambulatory outpatient diabetes clinics at community health centres in black areas of Cape Town.
Method: A stratified random sample (520) of all patients who attended any of five health centres during 1991 was reviewed by a clinician who had been trained to do structured record reviews.
Results: The response rate was 73.1%. Of all patients reviewed 91% had non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and the remainder insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; 65% were female and 35.8% were employed. Only 35% attended optimally. Fingerprick blood glucose values were recorded at 98.4% of visits, blood pressure was recorded at 74.1% of all visits and for 97.4% of patients; urine dipstick test results were recorded at 84.6% of visits and for over 99% of patients in 1991, and weight was recorded at 68.8% of visits. In contrast, fundoscopy was recorded for 6% of patients and examination of the feet was performed in 4.7% of patients. Fewer than half (48.9%) of visits resulted in any change in management. Polypharmacy is frequent, with an average of 2.3 non-hypoglycaemic drugs prescribed per visit.
Conclusion: Attendance and examination for treatable complications are inadequate. Care is routinised and reactive and there is polypharmacy.
Recommendations: Simple but appropriate protocols and matching in-service education are likely to improve the care of and health outcome for diabetics at these sites.