Clinical Inertia in Type 2 Diabetes Management: Evidence From a Large, Real-World Data Set

Abstract

Despite clinical practice guidelines that recommend frequent monitoring of HbA1c (every 3 months) and aggressive escalation of antihyperglycemic therapies until glycemic targets are reached (1,2), the intensification of therapy in patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (T2D) is often inappropriately delayed. The failure of clinicians to intensify therapy when clinically indicated has been termed “clinical inertia.” A recently published systematic review found that the median time to treatment intensification after an HbA1c measurement above target was longer than 1 year (range 0.3 to >7.2 years) (3). We have previously reported a rather high rate of clinical inertia in patients uncontrolled on metformin monotherapy (4). Treatment was not intensified early (within 6 months of metformin monotherapy failure) in 38%, 31%, and 28% of patients when poor glycemic control was defined as an HbA1c >7% (>53 mmol/mol), >7.5% (>58 mmol/mol), and >8% (>64 mmol/mol), respectively. Using the electronic health record system at Cleveland Clinic (2005–2016), we identified a cohort of 7,389 patients with T2D who had an HbA1c value ≥7% (≥53 mmol/mol) (“index HbA1c”) despite having been on a stable regimen of two oral antihyperglycemic drugs (OADs) for at least 6 months prior to the …