Indian Reality of Clinical Practice and Patient Profile in Diabetes Care: Lessons from the IMPACT survey

India shoulders a heavy burden of diabetes mellitus (DM), the management of which is suboptimal globally.& Objectives: Insulin Management: Practical Aspects in Choice of Therapy (IMPACT) survey was designed to gain insight into the ground (in-clinic) reality of DM management by physicians in India.

A survey consisting of 12 multiple-choice questions was conducted by SurveyMonkey® , focusing on practice profile, patient profile, and other aspects of DM management.

The survey included 2424 physicians. Majority of them were general physicians (58.5%) followed by diabetologists (31.1%). Most (49.2%) of the respondents specified that the ideal time for a DM consultation is 15 min. However, 73.4% of them provided consultation of <10& min because of heavy patient load. Nearly half of the respondents reported that their patients consumed a diet with carbohydrate content of 60% to 80%, and 79.4% of them admitted that <50% of their patients adhered to dietary advice. About 73.5% of the respondents believed controlling fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level alone would not adequately control postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) level, and 93.0% of them preferred an insulin therapy at the initiation that controls both FPG and PPG levels.

Limited consultation time, high-carbohydrate diet, and a need for choosing insulin regimens that provide control for both PPG and FPG levels are some ground realities of DM management in India. These realities need to be factored in while choosing treatment options to achieve the desired glycemic control and improve the status of diabetes care.