Providing tailored advice to patients with diabetes improves self-care, according to Diabetes UK.
‘Information prescriptions’ developed by the charity provide clinicians with key information on their patients’ condition during consultations, but also give patients bespoke advice they need to manage their condition at home. The prescriptions update the clinician on the patients’ HBA1C levels, blood pressure and cholesterol, and direct them to what needs urgent attention. Patients are given an information sheet with agreed targets for self-management at home.
‘The information prescriptions give quality, evidence-based, consistent and appropriate advice for each person with diabetes,’ said Naresh Kanumilli, Diabetes UK clinical champion. ‘In addition, they serve as an effective tool to prompt all clinicians during consultations, to include those not specifically related to diabetes, to discuss any concerns with them.’
Diabetes UK have created a range of information prescriptions on specific issues surrounding the condition. These include the impact of diabetes on mood, having diabetes and becoming pregnant, and how to maintain kidneys healthy.
‘When you are consulting with someone with diabetes who feels well it can be difficult to explain to them the potential damage that could be happening within their bodies as a result of poorly controlled conditions such as high blood pressure, raised cholesterol and a high HbA1c,’ said practice nurse Nicola Milne from Northenden Group Practice. 'It is fantastic to be able to have a tool that gives patients accurate information on their condition, alongside an easy to understand graphic of what could happen if their condition isn’t managed well.'