Diabetes disease management: Past, present, and future

Diabetes is a condition that easily lends itself to a disease management approach. It is characterized by easily measurable and quantifiable outcomes and process measures. When implemented, diabetes disease management programs can significantly improve outcomes, whether compared with the American Diabetes Association standards [1] or when assessed based on economic models [2, 3]. Despite this, on a population level, the data for patients with diabetes shows that targets are rarely reached [4-6]. This means that these programs are not uniformly available and/or they are implemented poorly. This review covers the history of diabetes disease management, its current application, and goals for the future.