Preventive-care services so as annu...

Preventive-care services so as annual foot and dilated watch examinations and biannual A1C examples can prevent or delay amputation and blindness from diabetes. The Center for Disease command and Prevention analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance body surveys to determine the percentage of Americans with diabetes who receive these services. The report, "Prevalence of Receiving Multiple Preventive-Care Services Among Adults with Diabetes-United States, 2002-2004" was published in the November 11 2005 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and is available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ mm5444a5.htm.

The close attention showed that although the percentage of patients with diabetes who received individual preventive-care services was stop up to or above national targets (75 percent for base and eye examinations and 50 percent for A1C tests) les than single in kind half of patients reported receiving all three services. Several factors were associated with a greater likelihood of receiving these services: age 75 years or older non-Hispanic black race, higher education, diabetes duration of 10 to 19 years, insulin use, diabetes management education, and health insurance coverage. Smoking had a negative association. Possible barriers to receiving these services may include lack of awareness, inadequate health insurance coverage, and the inability to make co-payments or visit specialists.

COPYRIGHT 2006 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group