Monitoring diabetes outcomes across Europe, and beyond: the EU DG SANCO funded EUBIROD project

Aim. The EUBIROD project, co-funded by the European Commission, started in September 2008 to implement a sustainable European Diabetes Register through the coordination of existing national/regional frameworks and the systematic use of the BIRO technology. A total of 22 participants from 20 European states, plus the Dasman Institute from Kuwait, will be connected through a system that will safely collect aggregated data and produce systematic EU reports for diabetes indicators, to be used for decision support in public health.Methods. The workplan includes the following tasks: secure and privacy-safe data collection; development of epidemiological techniques to compute standardized diabetes indicators; development of a customized toolbox to facilitate the connection process and the transfer of technology; dissemination and training through the activity of BIRO Academy, which will establish an e-learning platform and residential training courses; evaluation, made by international experts, of completeness and information content of the statistical reports.Results. By August 2011 the project will ensure the establishment of a stable network for data exchange at the international level and the creation of a common framework for standardized measurements whose users  will be specifically trained. The main result arising from the project will be the annual production of the European Diabetes Report, consisting of an analysis of quality of care and outcomes in diabetes using standardized criteria on top of a database of over 500,000 subjects. The report will include a discussion of the results, targeted at providing valuable input for European policy makers, health care and scientific organization, citizens. Conclusion. The EUBIROD project further develops the platform established by BIRO and EUCID, whose results have raised the interest of the European Commission. The progress will progress the construction of a unique diabetes information system that can be used in Europe and beyond, realizing a possible model for the automatic production of global IDF reports. More details available at http://www.eubirod.eu