Introduction: Managing cardiovascular risk factors improves outcomes in patients with diabetes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, already suboptimal control rates worsened in the United States. More research is needed to better understand the effect of interprofessional care models on comprehensive diabetes outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in underserved patients. Research Question or Hypothesis: How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect quality measures in predominately non-English speaking patients with diabetes? Study Design: A retrospective evaluation of electronic medical record data for a single patient cohort at 3 cross-sectional data points. Methods: This analysis included patients with diabetes seen at a charitable health clinic in Richmond, VA. Data was collected at 3 time points, the last documented values before 3/2020 (baseline), 3/2021 (year 1), and 3/2022 (year 2). The primary outcome was a composite of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood pressure (BP), and statin use for each year. The outcome metrics were defined as a HbA1c ≤9%, BP ≤140/90 mmHg, and statin use in people aged 40 and older. Cochran Q tests were performed (SPSS Statistics V28) to evaluate changes in proportions over time. Results: In the primary outcome analysis, 385 patients were included. From baseline, year 1 and year 2 the proportion of patients meeting the primary composite outcome during each time period were 34.3%, 34.0% and 38.4% respectively, p=0.193. There were no significant differences in the individual components with the exception of increased statin use-which increased over the same time period (62.4%, 70.0%, 73.2% respectively, p<0.001). While encounters were converted to telehealth visits during the pandemic, the number of clinic visits/year did not change over time (4.8, 4.8, and 4.5, respectively, p=0.13). Conclusion: A charitable health clinic was able to prevent the worsening of diabetes-specific quality metrics during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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