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Lessons from Implementing a Combined Workflow–Informatics System for Diabetes Management

^a Laboratory of Computer Science, Boston, MA
^b General Medicine Unit, Boston, MA
^c Clinical Research Program, Boston, MA
^d Center for Quality and Safety, Boston, MA
^e Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
^f Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.

^_* Correspondence: Dr. Adrian H. Zai, Laboratory of Computer Science, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, Boston, MA 02114 (Email: azai{at}partners.org).

Received for publication: 08/20/07; accepted for publication: 04/04/08.

Shortcomings surrounding the care of patients with diabetes have been attributed largely to a fragmented, disorganized, and duplicative health care system that focuses more on acute conditions and complications than on managing chronic disease. To address these shortcomings, we developed a diabetes registry population management application to change the way our staff manages patients with diabetes. Use of this new application has helped us coordinate the responsibilities for intervening and monitoring patients in the registry among different users. Our experiences using this combined workflow-informatics intervention system suggest that integrating a chronic disease registry into clinical workflow for the treatment of chronic conditions creates a useful and efficient tool for managing disease.