Our population in-
cluded patients from 12 Veterans Admin-
istration medical facilities (eastern U.S.
and Puerto Rico) in 2001. We identified
patients with two diagnoses of diabetes
(International Classification of Diseases,
9th revision, Clinical Modification codes
250.00–250.93 for type 2 diabetes with
or without comorbidities) using inpatient
or outpatient records, made on two or
more occasions (at least 7 days apart)