Improving the delivery of care for diabetes patients with a collaborative model.

A diverse group of home care agencies participated in a national Home Health Diabetes Learning Collaborative focused on developing the skills of practitioners to implement process-of-care changes among their diabetes populations. Through face-to-face meetings, conference calls, and "listserv" communications, these agencies worked together to plan, test, and spread best practice change concepts. Early evaluation results suggest the collaborative was an effective mechanism for achieving rapid quality improvements in the home care setting.