Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Mar;46(3):198-203.

Clinical outcomes of diabetic patients at a student-run free clinic project

Sunny D Smith  1 , Laura Marrone, Alex Gomez, Michelle L Johnson, Steven D Edland, Ellen Beck
Affiliations

Clinical outcomes of diabetic patients at a student-run free clinic project

Sunny D Smith et al. Fam Med. 2014 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: Our objective was to determine if the quality of care of diabetic patients at a Student-Run Free Clinic Project (SRFCP) meets the standard of care, is comparable with other published outcomes, and whether pertinent diabetic clinical indicators improve over time.

Methods: The authors conducted a retrospective chart review of diabetic patients at three University of California-San Diego (UCSD) SRFCP sites from December 1, 2008 to December 1, 2009 (n=182), calculated the percentage who received recommended screening tests, percent at goal, and compared these to published outcomes using Fisher's exact tests. Baseline measures were compared to most recent values using paired t tests.

Results: The percentage of patients who received recommended screening tests (process measures) was blood pressure (BP) 100%, HbA1c 99.5%, creatinine 99.5%, LDL 93%, HDL and triglycerides 88%, microalbumin/creatinine ratio 80%, and ophthalmology exam 32%. Intermediate outcomes included: 70% of patients were at LDL goal <100, 70% had microalbumin/creatinine ratio <30, 61% of males were at HDL goal %gt;40, 47% of females at HDL goal>50, 52% with triglycerides <150, 45% had BP <130/80, and 30% of patients had HbA1c <7. Mean HbA1c, LDL, HDL, triglycerides and blood pressure improved significantly over time.

Conclusions: Diabetic patients at UCSD SRFCP reached goals for both process measures and intermediate outcomes at rates that meet or exceed published outcomes of insured and uninsured diabetics on nearly all measures, with the exception of ophthalmology screening. Glycemic control, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure improved significantly during care at the UCSD SRFCP.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Process Measures: Percentage of Diabetic Patients Receiving Recommended Testing at the UCSD SRFCP From December 1, 2008 Through December 1, 2009 (n=182)
Figure 1a—Percentage of diabetic patients receiving recommended testing at UCSD SRFCP Figure 1B—Percentage of diabetic patients receiving recommended testing at UCSD SRFCP compared with other published outcomes– USCD—University of California San Diego SRFCP—Student-Run Free Clinic Project
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Simpson SA, Long JA. Medical student-run health clinics: important contributors to patient care and medical education. J Gen Intern Med. 2007;22(3):352–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Session PR1: Creating and managing student-run free clinic projects. Presented at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine 2008 Predoctoral Education Conference; Portland, OR. [Accessed January 16, 2013]. www.stfm.org/pd08web.pdf.
    1. Society of Student-Run Free Clinics. July 2012 Newsletter. [Accessed January 16, 2013];Sharing ideas in sunny California: the success of the SSRFC International Conference. http://www.studentrunfreeclinics.org/images/stories/Newsletter/ssrfc_new.... Published July 2012.
    1. Ferrara A, Moscato B, Griggs R, Thomas R, Smith S. Research session. Presented at the Society of Student-Run Free Clinics Conference in conjunction with the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine 2012 Conference on Medical Student Education; Long Beach, CA.
    1. Meah YS, Smith EL, Thomas DC. Student-run health clinic: novel arena to educate medical students on systems-based practice. Mt Sinai J Med. 2009;76(4):344–56. - PubMed