Can General Practitioners Assess Diabetic Control? Can Anybody Do Any Better?

A prospective study assessing the ability of various health professionals to estimate the control of diabetic patients from the accepted measures made for diabetes care was carried out. Patients were stratified into four categories according to the estimated HbA1c, and 45-60% were accurately assigned by the professionals. Patients were also divided into two broader groups according to their need to have changes in treatment made. None of the professionals could assign patients with Type 1 diabetes into these two groups with an accuracy of greater than 71%. With Type 2 diabetic patients accuracy improved up to 98% and there was little difference between the professionals. The current HbA1c was accurately predicted into two broad groups by the previous HbA1c alone in 89% of cases of Type 2 diabetes. These findings have implications for the routine care of diabetic patients and the education of health care professionals.