Effects of a Diabetes Boot Camp on Hemoglobin A1c Levels

Background: Diabetic education can have significant effects in improving glycemic markers in patients with diabetes. This study sought to determine if the Diabetes Boot Camp, a novel 2-hour, intensive educational program by a multidisciplinary team, was effective in lowering mean hemoglobin A1c (HgA1c) levels in diabetic patients when compared to the standard of care. Methods: The research design was that of a retrospective cohort study. The Diabetes Boot Camp population was defined as all diabetic patients referred to the boot camp clinic from the 10 physicians referring the most patients to the clinic from August 2009-August 2010. Three control populations were randomly selected from the same physicians' diabetic patients identified in the Ochsner primary care diabetes database during the same period. Pre-and postintervention HgA1c measurements on the same patients in all groups were analyzed. Control populations studied included an overall group, patients with HgA1c > 9%, and patients with HgA1c <= 9%. Results: Overall, the Diabetes Boot Camp cohort showed a significant decrease in mean HgA1c of 1.25% versus 0.11% compared to the control cohort (P< 0.001). In the other analyses, Diabetes Boot Camp patients with HgA1c > 9% and those with HgA1c <= 9% had statistically significant reductions in HgA1c compared to the control groups (P< 0.001). Conclusion: An intensive 2-hour multidisciplinary diabetes clinic demonstrated significant improvements in glycemic control as measured by HgA1c compared to standard care.