Core Standards of the EUBIROD Project. Defining a European Diabetes Data Dictionary for Clinical Audit and Healthcare Delivery.

Background: A set of core diabetes indicators were identified in a clinical review of current evidence for the EUBIROD project. In order to allow accurate comparisons of diabetes indicators, a standardised currency for data storage and aggregation was required. We aimed to define a robust European data dictionary with appropriate clinical definitions that can be used to analyse diabetes outcomes and provide the foundation for data collection from existing electronic health records for diabetes.

Switching from premixed insulin to basal-bolus insulin glargine plus rapid-acting insulin: the ATLANTIC study.

Introduction: Data on switching from premixed insulin to a basal-bolus regimen in routine clinical practice are sparse. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of switching from twice-daily premixed insulin to basal glargine plus rapid-acting insulin in a "real-world" clinical practice setting in Belgium and The Netherlands.

Methods: This prospective, 6-month, noninterventional, observational study was conducted in 37 centres in Belgium and 19 centres in The Netherlands.

Cross-border flow of health information: is 'privacy by design' enough? Privacy performance assessment in EUBIROD.

Background: The EUBIROD project aims to perform a cross-border flow of diabetes information across 19 European countries using the BIRO information system, which embeds privacy principles and data protection mechanisms in its architecture (privacy by design). A specific task of EUBIROD was to investigate the variability in the implementation of the EU Data Protection Directive (DPD) across participating centres.

Methods: Compliance with privacy requirements was assessed by means of a specific questionnaire administered to all participating diabetes registers.

Multicenter user evaluation of ACCU-CHEK® Combo, an integrated system for continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate a newly developed system for insulin delivery incorporating a multifunctional blood glucose meter and a remotely controlled insulin pump (ACCU-CHEK® Combo system) in established pump users with type 1 diabetes. The technology was assessed both from device performance and subject usability perspectives.

Method: A multicenter, prospective, single group study was carried out in five centers in the Netherlands and four centers in the United Kingdom for more than 6 months.

Prescribing quality indicators of type 2 diabetes mellitus ambulatory care.

Background: Existing performance indicators for assessing quality of care in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) focus mostly on registration of measurements and clinical outcomes, and not on quality of prescribing.

Objective: To develop a set of valid prescribing quality indicators (PQI) for internal use in T2DM, and assess the operational validity of the PQI using electronic medical records.

Methods: Potential PQI for hypertension, hyperglycaemia, dyslipidaemia and antiplatelet treatment in T2DM were based on clinical guidelines, and assessed on face and content validity in an expert panel followed by a panel of GPs and diabetologists.