Are Professionals Hesitant to Prescribe Insulin?

A recent study showed that a delay in prescribing diabetesdrugs or insulin to patients with type 2 diabetes isunwise, because effective control of blood sugar is crucialto averting serious complications. For the study, researcherspolled 3790 physicians and nurses in 13 countriesregarding their attitudes toward insulin. The study alsoincluded 2061 patients with type 2 diabetes who were nottaking insulin.

The findings indicated that >50% of the physicians reported"threatening" their patients with requiring insulin if they did nottake better control of their blood sugar. Another 50% to 55% ofphysicians and nurses said that they would delay prescribinginsulin until "absolutely necessary." Patients often said that theburden would be on them if taking insulin became necessary.The patients who ate better, exercised more, and worried lessabout their disease, however, would be less likely to blamethemselves. (The findings were reported in Diabetes Care,November 2005.)