DiaTrends is a user-friendly information technology program specifically designed for health care professionals who have particular interest in providing quality care for populations of patients with diabetes. It tracks and enhances the processes and outcomes of diabetes management. It's far more than just software; it's a whole new approach to diabetes care.  DiaTrends is an interactive point-of-care diabetes management tracking tool. Based on the simple but vital principle that "what gets measured gets done,” it’s designed to systematically improve the quality of diabetes care. It helps endocrinologists, diabetologists, primary care physicians and diabetes educators bridge the gap between current diabetes guidelines and the labor-intensive process of providing targeted diabetes care.

The aggressive expansion of managed care throughout the United States has added clear emphasis to the need for innovative new techniques to monitor, improve and report the quality of diabetes care. DiaTrends specifically fulfills this need.

Clinical endocrinologists with a busy diabetes practice developed DiaTrends as a quality-enhancement tool for diabetes care providers. They have been using it in their own practice since 1996 and have demonstrated significant improvements in multiple indicators of targeted diabetes management.

DiaTrends has been in continuous development. The most recent version, with numerous new and improved features, was released in October 2007.

DiaTrends is designed for physicians, diabetes educators and other diabetes care providers who want a structured approach to providing state-of-the-art, guideline-compliant diabetes management. It is used by those who want a proven tool to help them effectively apply current knowledge about optimal diabetes care to daily practice. It is used by care providers who want to improve workflow productivity, increase referrals and increase patient satisfaction.

It is also a unique tool for physicians and other diabetes care providers who seek aggregate data on their diabetes patient population as a means to demonstrate the value of their care. This can, for example, provide a competitive edge in negotiating contracts with managed care organizations.

So, in addition to having a special interest in diabetes care, physicians and educators who are likely to be good DiaTrends candidates typically are focused on preventive care, interested in systematic population-based chronic disease management, receptive to meaningful quality improvement opportunities, oriented toward a team approach to diabetes management, committed to patient satisfaction, and interested in patient care documentation for managed care organizations in an era of competitive contracts and evolving pay-for-performance initiatives.

Absolutely! In fact, busy providers often comment that they would never want to go back to the usual haphazard approach to diabetes management. DiaTrends is designed for systematic, interactive point-of-service use by the physician or other care provider at or near the time of the patient encounter. Color-coded prompts help keep track of what is due, facilitating rapid development of an agenda for each encounter, thus improving workflow productivity. Some practices choose to have parts of the data entry done by clerical staff. Of course, some data entry time must be invested. But users find that with experience, this is more than made up for by the improved productivity and effectiveness that DiaTrends adds to each encounter.

Remember, DiaTrends has been continuously used by its designers - practicing clinical endocrinologists – in their own busy practice. As its primary architects, as well as active users of its many features, they focus on ease and speed of use. This continues to be of paramount importance in its design whenever new features are added.

Users learn to use DiaTrends very quickly. No formal training is required. The intuitive graphical interface and familiar Windows point-and-click navigation features make the learning curve a snap. A handy "Getting Started" guide and an annotated demo CD are provided. Embedded context-sensitive "Help" provides detailed background information if questions arise. "Tip of the Day" provides helpful reminders.

Very.  DiaTrends was designed to allow rapid, intuitive data entry.

All of the tracked patient encounter data for most routine visits is easily entered in a minute or two, using a "Quick Data Entry" screen, which also allows immediate comparison to the most recent results. Data detail screens are an intuitive mouse click away, and also allow easy data entry.

Reports are run in seconds, using a powerful menu-driven point-and-click approach.

Built-in data fields include demographics, ethnicity, diabetes type and duration, office visit dates, weights/heights/BMIs, blood pressures, pertinent lab results (such as glucoses, HbA1c’s, fructosamines, lipids, microalbumins, serum creatinines, estimated GFRs), SMBG frequency, eye specialist exams, foot exams, pertinent medications (diabetes, lipid, BP, and antiplatelet drugs), vaccinations, diabetes patient education, hospitalization and ER utilization, smoking status, acute and chronic diabetes complications, comorbidities and cardiovascular events.

Many quantitative results can easily be graphed over time, automatically juxtaposed to medication timelines.

Added flexibility is provided via user-customizable “User-Defined Fields” and “Patient Notes.” 

Reporting features are the real power of DiaTrends. Robust reporting capabilities help each practice develop systematic strategies for improving delivery of diabetes care to their entire patient population. The “Report Generator” includes over 175 preconfigured reports. Each can be filtered in seconds, if desired, by essentially any demographic subset or other context-sensitive filters, using a simple but powerful menu-driven point-and-click approach. In a multi-physician configuration, reporting can be done either by physician, any combination of physicians, or the entire patient population.

By using aggregate data reports to monitor processes and outcomes of care, providers gradually sharpen their focus on improving adherence to those processes of care that lead to better outcomes. Users can even run a report that estimates how they are doing in relation to the HEDIS diabetes measures.

In today's challenging healthcare environment, information is power! In the coming years, provider performance measures will increasingly be a key determinant of success. DiaTrends changes behavior, while providing users with critical data documenting the quality of their care and facilitating continuous quality improvement.

Many additional tools and resources are provided, too many to list here. Favorites include context-sensitive links to current ADA and AACE diabetes guidelines; printable graphical A1C "report cards" for patients; printable patient-specific “Diabetes Summary Reports;” average glucose calculated from HbA1c; “Key Indicators;” HbA1c trends; bar graph of HbA1c distribution in the patient population; graphical presentation of progress toward achieving provider-specified goals; "Minimum Data Set" compliance summary screen; missing data utility; medication start date utility, unaccessed patient list; demographics export to Excel; database export to Access; printable ADA membership application; printable patient knowledge assessment; website links; medication database update tool; and many more.

The innovative “Blinded (De-Identified) Data Export Utility” allows users participating in certain patient registry and quality improvement projects to submit their database files (stripped of all patient-identifiable data) via diskettes, CD-R, USB memory key or Internet upload to a secure website, while leaving the original database intact on the user’s local hard drive.

Prospective users sometimes ask about features that DiaTrends does not offer. Examples include patient scheduling, check-in/check-out, prescription writing, treatment algorithms, glucose meter downloads, and ADA recognition program applications. DiaTrends is not designed to be a stand-alone medical record, and does not track all medications or do drug interaction checks. Data in other databases cannot be downloaded into DiaTrends.

Yes, numerous security features facilitate compliance with HIPAA including full password-protection, assignment of security level to all users, ability of administrator to make a user inactive, optional requirement for all users to periodically change passwords, optional user lockout after failed login attempts, optional inactivity lockout, comprehensive audit trails, etc. In addition, built-in database backup tools help users protect their data.

Yes. Installation is readily done by the customer, using the install CD which launches and runs the familiar InstallShield wizard. The user is then prompted to enter licensing codes. When DiaTrends is first opened, simple pop-up messages walk the user through setup steps. The entire process takes just minutes.

Yes. DiaTrends is available in both "Single-User" (stand-alone PC) and "Multi-User" (network) configurations. A "Single-User" database can be converted at any time to a centralized database in a "Multi-User" (network) configuration.

         Most any reasonably up-to-date PC with Microsoft Windows should work fine.

         Specific minimum system requirements:

• An IBM-compatible computer or network.
• Processor: An Intel Pentium (or 100% compatible) or higher processor running at 166 MHz or faster. (Recommended: Pentium II 200 MHz or higher).
• Memory (RAM):
  • At least 32 MB of memory for Windows 98 (1st or 2nd edition) or Windows Me. (Recommended: 128MB).
  • At least 64 MB for Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003. (Recommended: 128MB).
  • At least 512 MB for Windows Vista. (Recommended: at least 1 GB).
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0 (with service pack 6 or higher), Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 or Windows Vista.
• If networking (i.e. installing the "Multi-User Workstation" and/or the "Multi-User Database Server" on a network):  a network card, and networking software running one of the supported network protocols (TCP/IP, SPX, Named Pipes or Shared Memory).
• A CD or DVD drive (or USB port) for installation.
• Internet Explorer version 5.5 or above.
• Minimum hard drive space:
  • 200 MB for a "Single-User" (stand-alone) computer (database and program); or
  • 210 MB for a "Multi-User Database Server" plus "Multi-User Workstation" on a network server (database and program); or
  • 190 MB for a networked "Multi-User Workstation" (program alone).
  • Of course, this is in addition to the space required for Windows and your other applications.  The exact disk space required depends on your operating system.  Before starting to install, the InstallShield wizard dynamically shows the actual disk space which will be required.
• VGA or higher resolution color monitor.
• Standard keyboard.
• Mouse.
• Printer (not required but strongly recommended).

Yes, during normal business hours. Email, web-based, phone and fax technical and product support is provided free for the first 12 months. Thereafter, support is available either through a renewable annual subscription agreement or on a per-incident basis.

Examples: DiaTrends was the featured cover story in the October 1999 "Physicians and Computers" magazine. It was reviewed in "Medical Software Reviews" in Sept/Oct 2002, where it was "highly recommended." It tied for first place (with a score of 21 out of a possible 22) in a comprehensive review of Windows-based diabetes management software published in AADE’s "The Diabetes Educator" in March/April 2003.  "The Patient-Centered Endocrinology Practice" newsletter of September 2005 included a cover story describing how DiaTrends has helped endocrinologists enhance care, track outcomes and empower their patients.

Yes. Our plans for 2008 and beyond call for continued enhancements and new version releases.  We actively encourage user feedback regarding improvements and additional features to make DiaTrends even more useful.

Please explore the rest of this website.  An annotated DiaTrends demonstration is available at www.overlooksoftware.com/demo.aspx (requires high-speed Internet access), or Overlook Software can mail the same demo on a CD if preferred. On request, we will be happy to mail a product brochure, information package and/or 30 day evaluation version of DiaTrends that is an actual working copy of the current version.

If you decide to purchase the software after the evaluation period, Overlook Software will simply send you a new license code, allowing continued full access to any data that had already been entered.

Overlook Software will gladly provide configuration-specific price quotes on request. "Standard pricing" is based on the number of physicians whose patients are to be tracked and the number of users if installed on a network and begins at $2280. "Clinic pricing" is for sites where diabetes educators are tracking patients belonging to multiple physicians, in which case the base price is $2280 plus a modest amount for each additional "physician slot." Diabetes educator and quantity discounts are provided. It is possible to update licenses to allow more physician slots and/or network users later.

Support and software upgrades are included for the first 12 months. Subsequent annual subscriptions for support and upgrades are generally 25% of the then-current license fee for that specific configuration.

DiaTrends pays for itself quickly by 1) increasing workflow productivity; 2) raising patient satisfaction and retention; 3) generating key aggregate data which can be crucial in negotiating competitive contracts with managed care organizations; and 4) helping busy providers develop strategies to prepare for tomorrow’s pay-for-performance initiatives.

For more information on purchasing DiaTrends for your practice, please e-mail us or call Overlook Software today at (336) 274-0066.