179-LB: Confidence of Healthcare Providers to Prescribe Antihyperglycemic Agents with Cardiovascular Benefit

Abstract

Several antihyperglycemic agents have recently been demonstrated to provide additional glucose lowering and CVD risk reduction benefits in people living with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, little is known about confidence of healthcare providers (HCPs) to utilize these agents in clinical practice. A national sample of 905 physicians and nurse practitioners (NPs) from primary care, cardiology, and endocrinology completed an online survey and were asked: “How confident are you that you can effectively prescribe and manage type 2 diabetes with the following medications?” Answer options included a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from “Not at All Confident” to “Extremely Confident.” Results were weighted for representation by U.S. specialty-specific distributions of gender, race/ethnicity, years in practice, region, and employment. When compared to other HCPs, endocrinologists reported higher confidence in prescribing antihyperglycemic agents for people living with T2D (Table 1). Large proportions of HCPs in cardiology and primary care expressed low confidence prescribing many antihyperglycemic agents, particularly novel agents with CVD risk reduction benefit. Guideline-based professional education efforts may improve confidence of HCPs to utilize antihyperglycemic agents to optimize glycemic control and cardiovascular risk reduction when treating people living with T2D. Disclosure C.M. Shay: None. K.J. Robb: None. M.T. Martin: None. M.P. Petersen: None. E. Sanchez: None.