Columbia Physicians Receive National Recognition For Providing Quality Diabetes Care

ALEXANDRIA, VA (November 2000) – The American Diabetes Associations (ADA) and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today announced that six physicians from Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center have received recognition from their Provider Recognition Program for providing quality care to patients with diabetes. The Provider Recognition Program was designed to improve the quality of care that patients with diabetes receive by recognizing physicians who deliver quality diabetes care and motivating other physicians to document and improve their delivery of diabetes care. Robin Goland, M.D., Catherine Tuck, M.D., Kevan Herold, M.D., Judith Hey-Hadavi, M.D., Holly Schachner, M.D., and Ileana Vargas, M.D., will hold recognition status for three years. To receive recognition, each physician submitted data that demonstrates performance that meets the program’s key diabetes care measures for his or her patients, including eye exams, blood pressure tests, nutrition therapy, and patient satisfaction. When people with diabetes receive quality care as outlined by these measures, they are less likely to suffer complications such as heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, and amputations. “In this era of cost-consciousness, it is important to recognize physicians, like Drs. Goland, Tuck, Herold, Hey-Hadavi, Schachner, and Vargas, who are providing quality care for their patients with diabetes,” said Bruce Zimmerman, M.D., president of the American Diabetes Association. “We hope that all physicians who care for people with diabetes will see the importance of tracking their patient care and meeting the quality measures of the Provider Recognition Program to help prevent or delay the devastating complications associated with this chronic disease.” “We are very proud that six of our faculty members were chosen to receive this distinctive honor,” says Dr. Robin Goland, co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center and associate professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. “It means that the care we provide to our patients at the diabetes center is among the best in the nation.” To find out if your physician has been recognized by the Provider Recognition Program, access the ADA’s web site at www.diabetes.org/recognition. For further information about the Provider Recognition Program or to request application materials, call (703) 549-1500, extension 2202, or send e-mail to prp@diabetes.org. Diabetes is a serious disease that affects the body’s ability to produce or respond properly to insulin, a hormone that allows blood sugar to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy. An estimated 16 million Americans have diabetes. It is the sixth-leading cause of death by disease in the United States, and it has no cure. The National Committee for Quality Assurance in a non-profit watchdog organization that is widely recognized as the leader in the effort to assess, measure, and report the quality of care provided by the nation’s managed care organizations. More than half of the nation’s HMOs are currently involved in NCQA’s accreditation process. The American Diabetes Association is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information, and advocacy. Founded in 1940, the association has offices in every region of the country, providing services to more than 800 communities. The Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia Presbyterian (www.nbdiabetes.org) combines unprecedented family-centered patient care and education with world-class diabetes research programs. Located at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, 168th Street and Broadway, in New York City, the center hosts a renowned team of adult and pediatric diabetes experts, which include endocrinologists, educators, family counselors, nutritionists, podiatrists, and ophthalmologists.

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Bios:

Dr. Robin Goland is associate professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and co-director of the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia. Dr. Goland leads a research program in diabetes and pregnancy and studies of optimal clinical care protocols for diabetes. She has a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons.

Dr. Judith Hey-Hadavi is an endocrinologist who treats adults with all types of diabetes. Dr. Hey-Hadavi received her M.D. and D.D.S. degrees from the State University of Utrecht, Netherlands. She completed her endocrinology training at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons where she was the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Fellow.

Dr. Kevan Herold is associate professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and is conducting research on immunotherapy for treatment of Type 1 diabetes and is helping to develop an islet transplantation program at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Dr. Herold received his B.S. from Pennsylvania State University and his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College.

Dr. Catherine Tuck is assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and is a clinical investigator who studies prevention of cardiovascular disease in diabetes. Dr. Tuck received her B.S. from Princeton University and her M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas.

Dr. Holly Schachner is assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Dr. Schachner’s research interests are in clinical studies of childhood diabetes focusing on transplant-related diabetes. She received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and her M.D. from SUNY at Stony Brook School of Medicine.

Dr. Ileana Vargas is assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Dr. Vargas’ research interests are in the cause, treatment and prevention of childhood obesity. She is a graduate of Fordham University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

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Holly Schachner, Physicians Surgeons, Provider Recognition Program, Robin Goland