Johns Hopkins Health Alert
Your Diabetes Healthcare Team
If you have diabetes, your primary care physician can probably handle the varied aspects of your treatment plan -- but that doesn't mean he or she can do it alone. Because even basic healthcare is more complicated in people with diabetes, it's better to have a team of professionals who have specialized knowledge about various aspects of diabetes.
Your ideal diabetes team captain is a good primary care physician -- a generalist or internist -- with experience treating diabetes. In some cases, particularly with type 1 diabetes, you may need a board-certified endocrinologist.
Whether a generalist or a specialist should manage your diabetes care depends on your particular case and who is available. The "proof is in the pudding," and in this case, it depends on whether you are being checked regularly -- for instance, with an A1c test -- and if you are doing well. If you aren't being checked or your doctor doesn't seem to take diabetes seriously, it may well be time to move on. But if your A1c is in a good range and you are doing well, then stick with your physician.
People on your diabetes healthcare team may include:
- your endocrinologist or primary care physician
- a pharmacist
- a diabetes nurse educator, a person with a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) credential who specializes in providing instruction and advice on the day-to-day management of diabetes
- a registered dietitian to help you plan meals
- an ophthalmologist to monitor eye changes that could signal retinopathy (eye damage)
- a podiatrist to check your feet and lower legs for cuts and sores, which often fail to heal and can lead to amputations in people with diabetes
- an exercise physiologist to give advice on an exercise program
- mental health professionals to help you deal with the emotional stress of living with diabetes
Posted in Diabetes on March 31, 2011
Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Click here for additional information: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Disclaimer
Notify Me
Would you like us to inform you when we post new Diabetes Health Alerts?
