Clinical sites in three southern California counties serving low-income, ethnic minority populations participated in the study. 362 Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California) recipients with type 2 diabetes were randomized for at least one-year intervention (diabetes case managenment) or control (traditional primary care treatments) groups. Fifty-five percent of the participants were minorities.
The major study end point was glycemic control. Results of the analysis showed that the intervention group had significant improvement in glycemic control compared with the control group.
The study provides evidence that diabetes case management is feasible and can substantially improve glycemic control in a racial/ethnic minority and or low-income Medi-Cal population. The state of California Medi-Cal Managed Care Division and Center for Disease Control and Prevention funded the study, with additional support from the Research and Education Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Eli Ipp, MD, was the Research and Education Institute liason to the Diabetes Study group. He can be contacted at 310-222-2503 or ipp@gcrc.rei.edu .
Diabetes Care