Clinical inertia in management of T2DM

Diabetes is highly prevalent and serious chronic debilitating disease and reported to be the fourth main cause of death in Europe. Despite extensive evidence of benefits of tight glycemic control, large proportions of people with diabetes do not achieve target glycemic control. One major reason for this is clinical inertia which is "recognising the problem but failure to act" by health care professionals in primary care. The key issues in the management of people with T2DM include early detection of problems, realistic goal setting, improved patient adherence, better knowledge and understanding of pharmacotherapeutic treatment options and prompt intervention. Health care professionals must need to overcome clinical inertia and need to intensify therapy in an appropriate and timely manner. (C) 2010 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.