van Bruggen S, et al. – In this first-in-kind study, researchers analyzed the link between systematic monitoring of diabetes in primary care and levels of HbA_1c. They ascertained if full monitoring of biomedical and lifestyle-related target indicators within a care group approach is correlated with lower HbA_1c levels. HbA_1c levels were compared with 8,137 fully monitored and 3,958 incompletely monitored patients, adjusted for confounders: diabetes duration, age, and sex. According to findings, patients who were fully monitored had significantly lower levels of HbA_1c vs patients who were not fully monitored in a care group setting. Since this difference could have a significant clinical impact in terms of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-related risks, this could help overcome barriers to adequate registration in general practices in care group settings and thus improve structured primary care of T2DM. They recommended a systematic approach from the perspective of population health management to adjust the structured care protocol to incompletely monitored subgroups.