Appendix A

Set Up a Referral System

Integrated, multidisciplinary team care is key to successful diabetes management, and coordination of care can be facilitated by setting up a system of referrals for routine preventive care as well as for urgent needs.

Create a mechanism for preventive care and urgent referrals; don’t just tell the person with a potentially serious problem to consult a health specialist right away. Contact primary care and specialty providers to discuss with them criteria and ensure that procedures are in place for seeing a person who is referred for preventive care or an urgent basis.

Make a list of providers, case managers, phone numbers, and other contact information; keep it handy for quick reference. Consider giving individuals handouts with referral information, or calling clinics directly for urgent referrals.

Check the NDEP health care providers’ Web site, www.betterdiabetescare.nih.gov, for tools to help set up a referral system.

May 2007

National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP)    http://ndep.nih.gov
NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

A Joint Initiative of the National Institutes of Health and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention