Building Competency in Diabetes Education THE ESSENTIALS

TREATMENT MODALITIES: PHARMACOLOGICAL THERAPIES | 6-

Successful management of diabetes requires a multidisciplinary team approach. The individual’s role in the management of his/her diabetes is fundamental, as diabetes is truly a self-managed disease. The person living with diabetes should take an active role in their diabetes care and treatment plan. Education is essential in providing the person living with diabetes and their familywith the knowledge, skill, motivation and confidence to make informed choices about diabetes care. The 2018 Guidelines online interactive tool “Pharmacotherapy for Type 2 Diabetes “ provides direction about the selection of antihyperglycemic agents in the management of type 2 diabetes based on individual characteristics entered by the team (see guidelines.diabetes.ca). The majority of people with type 2 diabetes will require multiple agents to manage their diabetes. As a result, people with diabetes are faced with a complex daily regimen involving multiple medications to be taken at different times throughout the day. Extended-release or fixed-dose combination oral antihyperglycemic agents have been shown to increase adherence by simplifying pharmacological therapy and decreasing the pill burden/number of tablets a person with diabetes is required to take.