Experts: Patient Support Key to Management of Hyperglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes

Ongoing access to diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES), and promoting good medication adherence are among the keys to managing hyperglycemia, or high blood glucose, in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to a joint statement from the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA), released this week at the EASD annual meeting in Munich, Germany.

The statement was published in Diabetologia, the official journal of EASD, and in Diabetes Care, the official journal of ADA.

The experts who developed the consensus statement said that patient preference should be a major factor in driving treatment choices, because their preferences for the delivery method—such as a pill vs an injection—or things like side effects or cost could have an impact on adherence. And if patients don’t take medications, they don’t work, regardless of what evidence showed in a clinical trial.

The emphasis on giving patients more access to DSMES is key, because current reimbursement models, including those in Medicare, may limit the number of hours or points at which a patient can meet with a diabetes educator. A position statement from the American Association of Diabetes Educators, ADA, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics called for education at discrete points in the life cycle of diabetes: (1) at diagnosis, (2) at annual assessments, (3) when new complications occur, and (4) during transitions in life and care.

This article was originally published by the American Journal of Managed Care. Continue reading at AJMC.com.