Patient and practice factors associated with HbA1c testing frequency in patients with type 2 diabetes: a retrospective cohort study in Australian general practice

Chisato ‘Chrissy’ Imai*, Ling Li, Rae-Anne Hardie, Christopher Pearce, Andrew Georgiou

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Background: Better adherence to guideline-recommended glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing frequency is associated with better glycaemic control and lower risk of complications such as chronic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. This study investigates patient and practice factors associated with adherence to guideline-recommended HbA1c testing frequency.

Methods: A cohort of type 2 diabetes patients who regularly visited general practices from 2012 to 2018 was identified from 225 Australian general practices. With the goal of ≤53 mmol/mol, Australian guidelines recommend HbA1c testing at least 6-monthly. Patient history of HbA1c tests from 2017 to 2018 was used to define adherence to guidelines, and the associations with patient and practice factors were examined by regression models.

Results: Of the 6881 patients, 2186 patients (31.8%) had 6-monthly HbA1c testing. Patient age and anti-diabetic medications were associated with adherence to 6-monthly testing. When financial incentives are available to practices, a larger practice was associated with better adherence to 6-monthly testing.

Conclusions: The identified key factors such as age, practice size, medication, and incentive payments can be used to target initiatives aimed at improving guideline-recommended monitoring care for patients with type 2 diabetes to enhance their health outcomes.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)520-526
Number of pages7
JournalAustralian Journal of Primary Health
Volume29
Issue number5
Early online date16 Mar 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2023. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

  • adherence
  • diabetes mellitus
  • disease management
  • glycated haemoglobin A1c
  • incentive
  • monitoring
  • practice guideline
  • practice size

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