Improving quality of care using a diabetes registry and disease management services in an integrated delivery network.

Disease management for chronic conditions is a call for collaboration among all parties of the health care system. The Caritas Christi Health Care System established a unified American Diabetes Association (ADA) recognized outpatient diabetes self-management education program (DSME) in each of its six hospital communities and has established an Internet data portal with managed care organizations to improve preventive care for thousands of patients with diabetes. This article describes the stepwise process of building the successful Caritas Diabetes Care Program and the central role of the Caritas Diabetes Registry over a 5-year period.