This is the second part of a series describing the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes 2017 released by the American Diabetes Association recently.
Key Messages:
The comprehensive medical evaluation includes the initial and ongoing evaluations, assessment of complications, management of comorbid conditions, and engagement of the patient throughout the process.
People with diabetes should receive health care from a team that may include physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, dietitians, exercise specialists, pharmacists, dentists, podiatrists, and mental health professionals.
Individuals with diabetes must assume an active role in their care.
The patient, family, physician, and health care team should formulate the management plan, which includes lifestyle management.
Lifestyle management and psychosocial care are the cornerstones of diabetes management.
Patients should be referred for
- diabetes self-management education (DSME),
- diabetes self-management support (DSMS),
- medical nutrition therapy (MNT), and
- psychosocial/emotional health concerns
if indicated. Additional referrals should be arranged as necessary (Table 3).
The components of the comprehensive diabetes medical evaluation are listed in Table 4.
Recommendations
A complete medical evaluation should be performed at the initial visit to
- Confirm the diagnosis and classify diabetes.
- Detect diabetes complications and potential comorbid conditions.
- Review previous treatment and risk factor control in patients with established diabetes.
- Begin patient engagement in the formulation of a care management plan.
- Develop a plan for continuing care.
Useful Links:
Link to the ADA Standards of Care 2017 document:
Click to access dc_40_s1_final.pdf
Link to the ADA news release:
communitymedicine4all 