Type 2 diabetes. Patient practices, and satisfaction with GP care.
OBJECTIVE
To document patients' practices and management of DM2, their satisfaction with diabetes care and their quality of life and functional status.


METHODS
Anonymous questionnaire completed by 467 patients recruited by 204 GPs in 124 practices in the Perth metropolitan area.


RESULTS
Patients reported an adequate amount of monitoring for stable DM2. However, they lacked awareness of diabetes risk factors and complications from which they already suffered. Some 90% of patients reported a high level of satisfaction with GP care and only 2.4% of patients had more than a moderate degree of functional disability.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients have a high level of satisfaction about the diabetes care received from their general practitioner. However, they lack awareness of their risk factors and complications of diabetes. A simple strategy is proposed to improve these deficits and to share the responsibility for diabetes care between patient and doctor.
Kamien
M
M
Department of General Practice, University of Western Australia.
Ward
A
A
Mansfield
F
F
Fatovich
B
B
Mather
C
C
Anstey
K
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010358:Patient Participation; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011788:Quality of Life