Diabetes management for the primary care physician

Expert-recommended educational program may improve diabetes in older veterans

Educating health care providers about increased risks for hypoglycemia and its consequences for older adults with type 2 diabetes can help reduce events and improve health outcomes for these patients. Read more.

Reduce resistance to help patients adopt good diabetes self-management practices

Medical providers often view a patient’s resistance to diabetes self-management as a deliberate refusal to follow the provider’s prescribed course of action. Whether the directive is to change one’s diet or to take medication, the outcome of resistance is usually the same: The patient’s diabetes worsens, and the provider becomes increasingly frustrated.

The inherent problem with this perspective is that the provider tends to blame the patient, and many patients blame themselves for not following the doctor’s recommendations. Many times, this sets up the patient for failure. Resistance is a symptom of a larger problem and must be understood from the patient’s point of view. Read more.

Updated UK diabetes guideline stresses individualized care

The United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recently updated its diabetes guideline to include focus on tailoring advice and treatments to individual circumstances.

The importance of structured education for adults with type 2 diabetes and their family members or care providers is outlined in the guideline to help them develop knowledge and skills for diabetes self-management. Read more.

Helping patients with diabetes read food labels

For patients, with diabetes deciphering nutrition labels on the foods they buy can be a trying and confusing exercise that is critically vital to managing their condition.

Anastasia Albanese-O’Neill, PhD, ARNP, CDE, an assistant professor at the University of Florida’s College of Nursing, a diabetes advocate and an expert in the management of pediatric type 1 diabetes, discussed how health care professionals can help patients with diabetes manage their diets by reading food labels. Read more.

New diabetes drugs offer more options, some safety concerns

New diabetes drugs entering the market provide an increasing number of treatment options for patients living with the disease, making it more important than ever that clinicians understand the differences and distinctions between the various new drug classes.

John B. Buse, MD, PhD, the Verne S. Caviness Distinguished Professor, chief of the division of endocrinology and director of the Diabetes Care Center at University of North Carolina School of Medicine, said new agents that offer good side effect profiles and a low risk for hypoglycemia give clinicians new tools to treat type 2 diabetes, although some drug classes come with safety concerns and some rare but serious adverse event risks. Read more.

FDA approves mobile app for diabetes monitoring

A novel mobile app from Philosys, the Gmate SMART Blood Glucose Monitoring System and App for Android, has been approved by the FDA.

The system, which was already available for iOS users free of charge, consists of a portable blood glucose meter that plugs into the phone’s headphone jack and delivers the blood glucose test results. The quarter-sized meter works in conjunction with the app to provide the user with tools to better manage their diabetes. Read more.