Hi there. Following my prior post, I heard that The National Committee for Quality Assurance, American Diabetes Association Provider Recognition Program, Diabetes Quality Improvement Project, and National Quality Forum diabetes measurement sets all include HbA1c and lipid control indicators as well as HbA1c, lipid, urine protein, and eye testing. Is it true? If yes, it would so difficult for a medical social worker to collect such data.

Welcome.

Thank you for the information.

It is true that clinical data (laboratory or medical record data) are needed for a number of measures, however, and such data are difficult for medical social workers to collect, particularly for external model providers of self-management support, unless an electronic medical record is available. While patient self-report is reasonable for a number of these measures, such as chest pain or shortness of breath, it is unlikely to be reliable for other disease control measures such as cholesterol levels or other lab values.