Barriers to Advancing Treatment With Insulin Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients
A significant challenge facing primary care physicians (PCPs) in the treatment of their patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is overcoming patient and clinical barriers that prevent advancing treatment with insulin therapy. As discussed in Dr. Leahy’s introduction to this Website, barriers presented by patients often involve “needle phobia,” a sense of “failing oral therapy,” and the patient’s mistaken association between insulin use and comorbidities that result from vascular damage during diabetes. The reluctance to begin insulin therapy for T2DM patients may be due to a physician’s concerns about insulin-induced weight gain, hypoglycemia, or being able to effectively address patients’ perceptions of insulin therapy. Each practice may need to develop its own particular scheme or responses to overcome its specific barriers.
This Website has been developed to provide an interactive forum for PCPs to identify and share “best practices” implemented for advancing treatment of patients with T2DM to achieve their glycemic goals. Please share with us barriers you encounter when trying to advance treatment for T2DM patient therapy and your “best practice” for overcoming them. If you have questions or observations that you believe might be of interest, please share them as well!