Physicians′ perceptions of a national consensus guideline on insulin therapy: Data from the IMPACT study

Introduction : The effectiveness and impact of the Indian insulin guideline in clinical practice was evaluated by the Improving Management Practices and Clinical Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes (IMPACT) Study. The study also evaluated the participating physicians′ perceptions on the use of IIG versus RCP for management of diabetes. Materials and Method : This 26 week multicenter, open label, randomized, prospective study aimed to evaluate effectiveness of Indian insulin guideline (IIG) versus routine clinical practice (RCP) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Results : Out of 426 physicians who completed the physicians′ perception questionnaire, 189 (44.4%) felt that it was "easy" to initiate insulin in their patients using IIG. Cost of therapy (52.3%), followed by poor adherence (40.3%), and lack of motivation among physicians (40.4%) were the most important reasons cited for delay in initiation of insulin therapy. Two hundred and thirty three (54.7%) physicians felt that insulin titration was made "easy" in their patients using IIG, while 104 (24.4%) had a neutral approach. A total of 222 physicians (52.1%) felt it was "convenient" applying IIG in their practice, and 239 (67.8%) physicians felt "satisfied" with using IIG for achieving the targeted HbA1c