James F. Harrison

TL;DR: The Health Disparities Collaborative improved diabetes care in health centers in 1 year, and major challenges included needing more time and resources, initial difficulty developing computerized patient registries, team and staff turnover, and occasional need for more support by senior management.

TL;DR: Providers in health centers indicate a need to enhance behavioral change in diabetic patients, and better health care delivery systems and reforms that improve the affordability, accessibility, and efficiency of care are likely to help health centers meet ADA standards of care.

TL;DR: Rates of adherence to process measures of quality were relatively low among community health centers, compared with the targets established by the American Diabetes Association.

TL;DR: Providers in this study generally chose hypertension and hyperlipidemia target levels that met or were more stringent than national guidelines, but lacked confidence to address behavioral change and reported obstacles to modifying patient lifestyle.

TL;DR: Community health centers provide care for millions of medically underserved Americans with disproportionate burdens of hypertension and hyperlipidemia, and outcomes improved for some risk groups; however, ongoing QI is necessary.