Missing early diagnosis of Diabetes!

It is generally felt that the diagnosis is often missed or delayed in remote areas where the medical facilities are not available and medical insurance facilities are not able to reach. In India, it is common to see medical camps being conducted in the rural areas to detect the non communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. In some countries even though there are all the medical facilities available the diagnosis of diabetes is often delayed due to many reasons. Limited access to health care, especially being uninsured and going without insurance for a long period, was significantly associated with being a “missed patient” with diabetes. Efforts to increase detection of diabetes may need to address issues of access to care. In the coming years more and more attention will be given to the non communicable diseases and we can reduce the number of undetected diabetes people and improve their health care through the insurance systems.
Reference: Diabetes Care. 2008 September; 31(9): 1748–1753.