Welcome to the Podiatry Arena forums, for communication between foot health professionals about podiatry and related topics.
You are currently viewing our podiatry forum as a guest which gives you limited access to view all podiatry discussions and access our other features. By joining our free global community of Podiatrists and other interested foot health care professionals you will have access to post podiatry topics (answer and ask questions), communicate privately with other members (PM), upload content, view attachments, receive a weekly email update of new discussions, earn CPD points and access many other special features. Registered users do not get displayed the advertisments in posted messages. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our global Podiatry community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact contact us.
BACKGROUND: Well-coordinated interdisciplinary preventive foot care has been reported to significantly reduce diabetes-related foot ulcers, amputations, and hospitalization. However, the contribution of the specific components leading to these "successes" is not fully characterized. The microsystem conceptual framework was adapted to foot care to determine which of the microsystem success characteristics were associated with decreased major lower-limb amputation rates at 10 Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers.
METHODS: Two-day site visits were conducted using standardized interviews at the 10 VA medical centers.
RESULTS: Six "must do's" for foot care in microsystems were correlated at > or = (-.30) with amputation rates: (1) addressing all foot care needs, (2) appropriate referrals, (3) ease in recruiting staff, (4) confidence in staff, (5) available stand alone specialized diabetic foot care services, and (6) providers attending diabetic foot care education in the past three years. Using multiple linear regression, the sum of these items described 59% of the variance (p = 0.006).
DISCUSSION: Clinicians and managers may want to include the must-do's in system modifications to improve foot care for people with diabetes. Many of the sites displayed exemplary features in foot care, such as providing a formal orientation to the foot care clinics.
In the UK we have recently had a NATIONAL SERVICE FRAMEWORK published for the Diabetic Foot and is worth looking at for the best evidence based practice of running and workings of a Diabetic Foot Clinic.
Copies are available form email to : NDST@prolog.uk.com and is called the National Diabetes Support Team Diabetic Foot Guide.
"Must do's" for successful diabetic foot clinics
Linear Mode
