How do you turn the tide for patients with Type 2 diabetes?

Navigating diabetes treatment is increasingly tricky, with the need to balance A1C against a growing body of research suggesting that how we lower blood sugar may impact patients’ heart disease risk.

The general principles for managing Type 2 diabetes are also changing because of patients’ involvement in the decision-making process, according to Jeffrey Freeman, DO, who urges osteopathic physicians to spend extra time making sure patients are comfortable with their choices.

Dr. Freeman, chairman of the division of endocrinology at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, is among the presenters of the CME presentation “Turning the Tides: Diabetes, Patients and Strategies.” The program is recommended for family physicians, internists and endocrinologists, who receive 1.5 hours of 1B credit for completion.

Key educational outcomes include:

• Recommendations from current clinical guidelines for the appropriate use of the GLP receptor agonists in the management of Type 2 diabetes.
• Clinically relevant differences among the current agents within the GLP drug class.
• Patient characteristics that should be considered to appropriately individualize Type 2 diabetes treatment with GLPs.
• Information to select treatment regimens that include complementary combinations of GLP agonists with other classes of antidiabetic agents.
• A deep dive into the benefits and limitations of therapeutic intensification with GLP receptor agonists compared with those of other classes of antihyperglycemic agents.

Increasing patients’ comfort level with the medication and providing reassurance is also shown to increase adherence to the treatment regimen, Dr. Freeman noted.

Disclosures—This CME was developed by the Institute of Medical & Nursing Education and is supported in total by an unrestricted grant from Novo Nordisk Co.