Effect of Diabetes Education During Retinal Ophthalmology Visits on Diabetes Control

Although each patient with diabetes should be receiving diabetic education as part of their on-going routine medical care, it is likely that such education is delivered with different details and intensity. Motivating a patient with diabetes to become involved in his or her care is of primary importance in achieving better systemic control. Ocular complications from diabetes remain the most common cause of blindness among American adults 20-74 years of age. A recent survey reported that loss of vision is the most feared of all diabetic complications. Thus, it is possible that an educational intervention at an ophthalmology office may have additional impact beyond the current standard of diabetes education at a primary care or diabetologist/endocrinologist office alone. This study will determine whether diabetes education in the ophthalmology office (which includes same-visit feedback of HbA1c levels, combined with standardized education regarding same-visit blood pressure, retinopathy status and overall diabetes education) can improve subsequent HbA1c as compared with current standard care in an ophthalmology office. Materials used in this research setting must be applicable for use in ophthalmology practices. Therefore, the materials and procedures for this study have been developed with the goal of easy translation to this audience.