How Governmental Policies Guided the Development of the Proposed Intervention
The National Clinical Care Commission’s (NCC) report formed the basis for developing the intervention. The NCC developed a national framework for preventing and controlling diabetes mellitus (Schillinger et al., 2022). In this report, the enablers for prevention and control include policies, supportive environments, individualized aspects, and healthcare-related factors (Schillinger et al., 2022). The specific strategies include health literacy, routine screening and diagnosis, patient follow-ups, evidence-based treatment plans, self-management, and improved access to healthcare (Schillinger et al., 2022).
The lifestyle modification and tight glycemic control intervention are harmonious with NCC’s health literacy and self-management strategies. Health literacy is key to lifestyle modification for type 2 diabetic patients. Besides, lifestyle modification is a significant aspect of the proper and adequate management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Accordingly, this involves dietary modification and regular exercise. Dietary modification entails strategies such as avoiding sugary foods, trans fats, and saturated fats (Duarte et al., 2018). Patients should embrace foods with a low glycemic index and fresh fruits and vegetables (Duarte et al., 2018). In addition, patients should eat small portions of meals at predetermined time intervals to avert hypoglycemia (Duarte et al., 2018). Regular exercise is beneficial because it helps optimize insulin sensitivity (Duarte et al., 2018). It also helps the patient maintain cardiovascular health and avert other comorbidities, such as hypertension (Duarte et al., 2018).
According to Duarte et al. (2018), tight glycemic control ensures that the patient’s blood sugar levels are within the recommended ranges. This is key to the proper management of type 2 diabetes mellitus because it helps to avert diabetic emergencies and complications (Duarte et al., 2018). Tight glycemic control can be achieved by compliance with the treatment plan. Various strategies can be used to improve compliance. They include using drug calendars and reminders such as alarms or text messages (Duarte et al., 2018).
Proposed Intervention and the Quality of Care, Patient Safety, Costs
The proposed intervention entails lifestyle modification and tight glycemic control. Lifestyle modification comprises dietary modification and physical exercise (Duarte et al., 2018). Physical exercise helps improve insulin sensitivity and minimize the manifestations of diabetes mellitus (Duarte et al., 2018). It also helps to avert comorbidities such as hypertension by maintaining cardiovascular health (Duarte et al., 2018). Dietary modification ensures that the blood glucose profiles do not fluctuate and are maintained within the recommended range (Duarte et al., 2018). Tight glycemic control ensures adequate control of patients’ blood glucose levels. By embracing these interventions, the quality of healthcare services will be improved (Duarte et al., 2018). Furthermore, better patient outcomes will be achieved by adequately controlling blood glucose levels and avoiding common comorbidities. As a result, patient safety will be achieved by averting the risk of diabetic emergencies and complications (Duarte et al., 2018).
According to Martinez et al. (2019), lifestyle modification and tight glycemic control will help to avert the development of diabetic emergencies and complications. Examples of these emergencies include hypoglycemia and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic non-ketotic syndrome (Martinez et al., 2019). Diabetic complications include retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and cardiovascular complications (Martinez et al., 2019). Reducing complications and emergencies will minimize treatment costs incurred by patients during regular hospitalizations (Martinez et al., 2019). The healthcare facility will also benefit because the costs incurred in managing diabetes mellitus can be channelled into other developmental projects (Martinez et al., 2019).
Sources of Benchmark Data on Care Quality, Patient Safety, and Costs
According to NHQDR (n.d.), the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports (NHQDR) provide benchmark data on quality patient safety and costs of managing diabetes mellitus. The NHQDR uses specific metrics to compare the quality of healthcare services provided by healthcare facilities (NHQDR, n.d.). The NHQDR uses both state and federal benchmarks. Subsequently, this allows the healthcare facilities to evaluate their performance at the state and national levels. Consequently, healthcare facilities formulate strategies for improving the underperforming metrics (NHQDR, n.d.). Notably, this necessitates the use of evidence-based practices to improve the quality of care and achieve better patient outcomes. Underperformance indicates poor quality of care, red