A study in the US examined the influence of counseling on the therapy goals of diabetics; the results showed that diabetics who received monthly counseling on nutrition and exercise after they were diagnosed, reached their therapy goals considerably quicker than those who only received counseling every 6 months or less.
The retrospective study analyzed 30,897 diabetics with the following result: The more frequently patients had a direct consultation with a doctor or diabetes expert, the quicker therapy goals like an HBA1c value of less than 7% were achieved.
Commentary: Although this issue sounds like an old wife’s tale, it is still not given enough recognition in the provision of therapeutic aids. The explaining of products, familiarization with instruments and support of patients by the health care provider are an important part of the therapy and serve to achieve the therapy goals. However, health care providers still do not emphasize this service – or do not emphasized it enough – to the health funds and it is not sufficiently acknowledged by them. Refunds are still almost completely defined by product price, which has the inherent danger that this is exactly the kind of service which will disappear more and more as refunds decrease. The unanswered question remains: In the future, how can this service aspect of health care provision figure more prominently as far as refunds are concerned?
[ilink url=“http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/2/334.abstract“]Link to source (American Diabetes Association)[/ilink]