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Diabetes Counseling From Primary Care Physicians Leads To Patients Meeting Treatment Goals Much Faster

A recent long term study performed by the Brigham and Women's Hospital, an affiliate of the Harvard Medical School, showed that Diabetes patients who received lifestyle counseling in a primary care setting reduced their A1C, cholesterol and blood pressure levels at an astonishing rate. The study was performed over a 2 year period and involved over 30,000 diabetes patients. 

The numbers are jaw-dropping. Patients who received face-to-face counseling from a primary care physician at least once a month reached their blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure goals more than 14 times faster than those who received counseling only once every one to six months. Patients who only received counseling once every one to six months took over a year (13.5 months) to reach their goals, while those who saw their primary care physician at least once a month, reached their goals in just 3.9 weeks. 

The senior author of the study, Director of Informatics Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Alexander Turchin, MD, MS, says, "clearly it gets people to goals faster than when they are not given continued encouragement and information on how to increase physical activity levels, eat properly and reduce lipids." 

This is the first study of its kind that focused on counseling in a primary care setting rather than in clinical trials. The difference being that patients in clinical trials are monitored more closely and more resources are available. Until this study, the jury was still out on whether similar results to clinical trials would occur in a primary care setting.  

Controlling diabetes is vital to patient health. It is a condition that requires lifestyle changes along with consistent monitoring as a part of a successful approach to treatment. Lifestyle changes are very difficult to attain, especially if you try to go it alone. 

Your doctor knows you and understands your specific case. You may have an injury, other medical conditions or time constraints that must be worked around. Your doctor will take any special circumstances into consideration when outlining your plan and counseling you along the way. The guidance and information you receive can help you stay on task and lead to swift handling of the issues that may arise. 

If you would like to learn more, the study is published in the February, 2012 issue of Diabetes Care.