Diabetes Outcomes and Nurse Case Manager Study

Impact of Nurse Case Management on Diabetes-related Health Outcomes in a Specialty Care Setting: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study will examine whether patients with diabetes who are either 1) newly discharged from hospital or 2) referred to an endocrinologist for management will have better diabetes outcomes when their care is managed primarily by a dedicated case manager (intervention) than by an endocrinologist (standard care) after 6 months of treatment.

The study will be a randomized-control trial recruiting patients with type 2 diabetes in a specialty care setting from two sources:

1. referred by family physicians with inadequate glycemic control likely requiring exogenous insulin therapy
2. referred by medical staff at Vancouver General Hospital or St. Paul's Hospital during in-patient care & about to be discharged (Appendix 1).

Patients who meet the inclusion criteria will be randomly assigned into either the NCM group or SC group.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Type 2 diabetes
• A1c > 8.0 or
• BP > 140/90 or
• LDL cholesterol > 2.0 (72 mg/dl)

Exclusion Criteria:

• inability to speak English or to be assisted by somebody fluent in English