Selecting Indicators for the Quality of Diabetes Care at the Health Systems Level in OECD Countries

This report presents the recommendations of an international expert group on indicators for diabetes care. Based on a review of existing indicators and an assessment of gaps left open by existing indicators, the experts set out to select indicators to cover clinical processes of diabetes care as well as proximal and distal outcomes of care. The review led to a recommendation of nine indicators: annual HbA1c testing, annual LDL cholesterol testing, annual screening for nephropathy, annual eye exam, HbA1c control, LDL cholesterol control, lower extremity amputation rates, kidney disease in persons with diabetes, and cardiovascular mortality in patients with diabetes.