Your diabetes care team can help you find a diabetes treatment plan that works for you. Take a few minutes to answer these questions so your care team will know how to make the most of your visit.
First, let’s see where you are in your diabetes journey.
1. How long have you had Diabetes?
☐ Less than 1 year
☐ 1 to 5 years
☐ 6 to 10 years
☐ More than 10 years
2. How do you think your diabetes treatment is going?
☐ Great—I’m totally on top of it
☐ Okay—but it could be better
☐ Not so good—something needs to change
Now let’s find out how you’re doing with specific parts of your care.
3. Many people take more than one medicine to treat their diabetes. Are you okay with the idea of taking more than one medicine?
☐ Yes
☐ No
☐ I’m not sure
4. Do you take your medicines on schedule and as prescribed?
☐ Yes
☐ No
☐ Sometimes
5. Do you check your blood sugar on schedule?
☐ Yes
☐ No
☐ Sometimes
6. The last time you got your A1C checked, were you meeting your goal?
☐ Yes, my A1C was where it needs to be
☐ No, my A1C was too high
☐ I’m not sure
7. What do you do when you need help managing your diabetes?
☐ I call someone on my care team, like my doctor, nurse, dietitian, or pharmacist
☐ I call my diabetes educator
☐ I ask friends and family
☐ I go to an organization in my community
☐ I look on the Internet
☐ I don’t know what to do—I feel like I’m in this alone
☐ Other: ____________________________________
8. What are the biggest challenges you have in managing your diabetes?
☐ My treatment plan
☐ Sticking to my treatment schedule
☐ Paying for my medicines, devices, or supplies
☐ Getting to my appointments
☐ Eating healthy
☐ Getting enough physical activity
☐ Feeling overwhelmed or depressed about my diabetes
☐ Other: ____________________________________
9. What other things would you like to talk about?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Great—now share your answers with your diabetes care team during your visits. That way, they can help you get the information and support you need to keep your diabetes treatment on track to meet your goals.
This handout was published in Clinical Diabetes, Vol. 42, issue 4, 2024, and was adapted from the handout “Your Type 2 Diabetes Treatment: Get Ready for Your Visit,” from the American Diabetes Association’s Overcoming Therapeutic Inertia program. Visit the Overcoming Therapeutic Inertia webpage at https://www.therapeuticinertia.diabetes.org/patient-engagement-toolkit to access the entire Therapeutic Inertia Patient Engagement Toolkit of free, downloadable handouts. Distribute these to your patients and share them with others on your health care team. Copyright American Diabetes Association, Inc., 2024.
