The following is the summary of “Attitudes and Behaviors with Diabetes Technology Use in the Hospital: Multicenter Survey Study in the United States” published in the December 2022 issue of Diabetes technology and therapeutics by Madhun, et al.
The goal of this study is to evaluate the perceptions, practices, and obstacles associated with diabetes technology adoption in general medicine hospital wards. The authors created a non-remunerative web-based anonymous survey to collect data on hospital use of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). 4 key US hospital networks.
The findings show that among the 128 doctors who participated in the study, 76% were hospitalists, 10% were advanced practice clinicians, and 6% were primary care physicians. Treatment of in-hospital hyperglycemia was deemed “essential” by the vast majority of responders (96%), as was the maintenance of CSII during hospitalization (93%). Despite the fact that the vast majority of respondents (64% overall) were aware of CSII rules at their institution, only 84% were at least somewhat familiar with them. Lack of practitioner (70%) and nurse (67%) understanding of utilizing the device was the primary obstacle to CSII utilization in the inpatient setting. Only a quarter of those polled was informed about their hospital’s CGM policy.
A little over half of the doctors said they use continuous glucose monitor (CGM) data to help determine an appropriate insulin dose for a newly admitted patient, but almost a third only do so in emergencies. In this US-wide survey, researchers found that the majority of in-hospital practitioners emphasized glycemic control but that many needed to familiarize themselves with institutional policies, lacked awareness of CSII, and needed to examine CGM data.