Sunday, July 8, 2012

My doctor says I don’t need to see a specialist for my diabetes. How do I know if my doctor is right?

At the time of writing, there are estimated to be about
16 million adults in the United States who are aware that they have diabetes. There are, however, only about
4000  certified  adult  diabetes  specialists in  clinical practice and not all of these are in full-time practice. Some, perhaps  one  in four, do not see patients with diabetes at all. This translates to one diabetes specialist for every 5000 people with  diabetes. 


The average diabetes specialist carries a clinic census of several hundred active patients, each of whom he or she sees from two to several times per year. From these statistics, it is clear that  the  vast majority of people with diabetes will not be able to consult  a specialist. However, not all people with diabetes need  specialist input, and those who do will usually not require it for the majority of the course of the disease, especially in the  case  of type 2 diabetes. Much  of the  education necessary to  effectively manage  diabetes,  especially that  centering  on  glucose monitoring  and  diet  and nutrition,  is accessible by  referral directly from your family doctor. Given its frequency, many family doc- tors see a considerable number of patients  with dia- betes and are competent in its routine management. They  also generally make effective judgments as to when specialist consultation is advisable.


Some of the circumstances in which consultation with a diabetes  specialist is often advisable

1 comment:

  1. i think you need a specialist so that if the doctor is unavailable you can still check yourself by a specialist. great post though

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