RACGP resources to assist GPs during National Diabetes Week

Type 2 diabetes has been referred to as a 21st century epidemic and is the fastest growing chronic condition in Australia.
 
One million people, or 4.4% of the Australian population, had type 2 diabetes in 2014–15, a significant increase from 840,000 in 2011–12.
 
And these numbers only represent people who have been told by a doctor or nurse that they have diabetes: it has been estimated that up to 500,000 Australians are living with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, which can have very serious consequences, including kidney damage, blindness and stroke.
 
These figures render the focus of this year’s National Diabetes Week on timely treatment and diagnosis more urgent than ever. And, according to Diabetes Australia Chief Executive Officer Greg Johnson, GPs are absolutely key to this effort.
 
‘Primary care research is critically important because that’s where the epidemic of type 2 diabetes is diagnosed and primarily managed,’ he told the RACGP.
 
‘For a person to live a healthy life with diabetes, they need a close relationship with their GP.’
 
The RACGP recognises GPs’ vital role in prevention, diagnosis and management of diabetes and has a number of resources to assist them in supporting their patients with this condition:
 

• General practice management of type 2 diabetes – guidelines provide give up-to-date, evidence-based information tailored to general practice.
• National guide to a preventive health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (National Guide) – covers key preventive health measures in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, whose people are four times more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to have diabetes or pre-diabetes. The third edition includes a chapter on type 2 diabetes prevention and early detection.
• Guidelines for preventive activities in general practice (Red Book) – the recently-updated ninth edition contains a section on type 2 diabetes under ‘Prevention of vascular and metabolic disease’.
• Putting prevention into practice: Guidelines for the implementation of prevention in the general practice setting (Green Book) – the third edition is a practical resource designed to strengthen preventive activities in general practice. It contains case studies and advice on implementing practice-wide activities and infrastructure to support GPs and patients in preventive activities for diabetes and a number of other conditions.
• Emergency management of hyperglycaemia in primary care – developed to assist GPs and their practice teams provide timely assessment and management of hyperglycaemia.
• Smoking, nutrition, alcohol, physical activity (SNAP) – a guide to assist GPs and their practice team to work with patients on the listed lifestyle risk factors, which can all be contributors to the development of diabetes and other types of chronic disease.

“Diabetes” “Green “Hyperglycaemia” “National “Red Book” diabetes guide” week”