Diabetes becomes a medical malpractice issue when a serious preventable injury has occurred to a diabetic because of a doctor not following accepted standards of diabetic care.
This page discusses the standards of care for treating diabetes in general. Please refer to the following web pages for more information on the specific injuries often related to malpractice:
Medical Malpractice in Diabetes Treatment
What are “standards of care”? These are the minimum requirements for competent treatment of a medical disease or condition. A number of organizations, mainly the American Diabetes Association, have published guidelines that together make up the standards of care for treating diabetics in the United States.
Some doctors are much better about following up-to-date treatment guidelines and standards than others. In diabetes, it can be important to regularly see a physician who specializes in diabetes. These doctors are called diabetologists or endocrinologists, a subspecialty of internal medicine.
General internal medicine physicians can and do give excellent diabetes care, but some do not have the training, knowledge or interest to provide the high-quality care that diabetic patients need and deserve.
Standards of Care
- Complete collection of the standards of care. Your doctor should follow these standards when treating his patients for Diabetes. Composed by the physicians of the American Diabetes Association, it describes the goals a doctor must meet if he is to fulfill the minimum requirements for diabetes treatment. These include regular hemoglobin, eye, and foot testing, as well as patient education and the establishment of a clear nutrition and exercise program to minimize the cardiovascular risks of diabetes.
- Consensus statement on general insulin use and blood sugar control.
- [see also references 1 and 2 (glucose).]
[it is also discussed in the comprehensive medical standards of care for diabetes treatment] - Prevention and treatment of diabetic retinopathy (blindness). This includes treatment guidelines for blood glucose control and dilated eye exams.
- Prevention and treatment of diabetic foot disease.
- Updated standard of care for the prevention and treatment of diabetic nephropathy (diabetic kidney disease).
- Updated standard of care for the prevention and treatment of general diabetic neuropathy.
- Standards for optometrists in treating diabetes-related eye disease. American Optometric Association
- Treatment of diabetic retinopathy (blindness). American Academy of Ophthalmology
- Managing diabetes in the long-term care setting. American Medical Directors Association
- Standards for pancreas transplant in type I diabetes. American Diabetes Association
- Standards for healthcare system and self-management education intervention in reduction of morbidity and mortality from diabetes. Federal Government Agency Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Medical guidelines for the management of diabetes mellitus : the AACE system of intensive diabetes self-management–2002 update. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
Consult with an Experienced Malpractice Attorney
If you believe you or a family member has been seriously injured from medical malpractice, medical error, or neglect by a doctor, hospital, nurse, clinic, nursing home or other health care provider, you may want to click here to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney for a free evaluation of your case. You can also email us at info@patrickmalonelaw.com or call us at 202-742-1500 or 888-625-6635 toll-free. We will respond within 24 hours. There is no charge for our initial consultation.
