Designing and implementing an outpatient management pathway for patients with newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Objective: Recently, our team transitioned to an outpatient diabetes education model for patients with newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) after concerns arose regarding inconsistent education provided in the hospital, as well as additional emotional stress attributed to hospitalization. To optimize this model, an improvement initiative was implemented to redesign the outpatient care processes, refine patient education content and identify ideal educational strategies. Specific aims were to (a) achieve family self-management, (b) reduce stress and (c) ensure family and provider satisfaction with the outpatient pathway.

Randomized, controlled trials of interventions to improve communication in intensive care: a systematic review.

Background: Communication between families and providers in the ICU affects patient and family outcomes and use of health-care resources. Recent research studies have tested interventions designed to improve communication quality and outcomes between providers and families of patients in the ICU. We conducted a systematic review of these studies.