Conquering diabetes therapeutic inertia: Practical tips for primary care

Abstract

Diabetes is a complex condition that is largely self-managed. Decades of scientific evidence has proved that early glycemic control leads to improved microvascular and macrovascular outcomes in people with diabetes mellitus. Despite well-established management guidelines, only about half of the patients with diabetes achieve glycemic targets, and only one in five patients achieve metabolic control (blood pressure, lipid, and glucose targets), and both patients and physicians find themselves stuck in a rut called therapeutic inertia (TI). The authors present several practical strategies that can be tailored to different practice settings and facilitate reducing TI.