Data management and expert systems for outpatient diabetes care--16 years experience with diabeta.

The continuing development and implementation of a computer-based diabetes register and management system are described. For 15 years the system has been used as a readily accessible source of clinical data, for letter generation, for prompting screening procedures and for clinical audit and research. Later developments include the incorporation of specialist "intelligence" for advising management of individual patients. This is intended for use by non-specialists to enable their greater participation in diabetes care. It is currently undergoing preliminary evaluation with a view to conducting clinical trials both in Hospital and in General Practice.