Each year, about 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes. 20% of people said they learned they had diabetes thanks to an eye exam.¹ As an eye care professional, you have the opportunity to help identify diabetes and encourage patients to seek treatment early.

Here are five recommendations to help you care for your patients with diabetes, or patients who are at risk for diabetes:

1. Ask about diabetes during the patient history or consider adding a question to your patient health history questionnaire.² Don’t forget to also ask about prediabetes too!
   1. The Centers for Disease Control offers a free Prediabetes Risk Test at: https://www.cdc.gov/prediabetes/pdf/Prediabetes-Risk-Test-Final.pdf
2. Be aware of risk factors for diabetes such as prediabetes, family history, being overweight, aged 45+ years, or physical inactivity.²
3. For those patients with a diabetes diagnosis, ask about type, severity, duration, medications, and treatment plan. Test results like A1c or recent blood glucose levels can provide insight into how well they are managing their condition.²
4. Be sure to ask about your patient’s diabetes status at each annual exam to ensure the proper eye examination is performed.²
   1. According to the American Optometric Association, “the ocular examination of an individual suspected of having undiagnosed diabetes should include all aspects of a comprehensive eye and vision exam…”³
5. Create letter/report templates that can quickly and easily be completed with the patient’s eye exam results and shared with the patient’s PCP or endocrinologist.² This helps ensure continuity of care.

For additional information and recommendations, check out: American Optometric Association: Eye Care of the Patient with Diabetes Mellitus, Second Edition