Doctors, patients can differ on treatment

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Diabetes patients and doctors can differ over whether pain and depression or hypertension should be a top priority, U.S. researchers said.

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System and Veterans Affairs Healthcare System surveyed 92 doctors and 1,200 of their patients with diabetes and found 38 percent of doctors were more likely to rank hypertension as the most important issue, but only 18 percent of diabetics felt likewise.

The survey, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, found 28 percent of patient-doctor pairs -- did not prioritize health conditions the same way.

"If a patient and their doctor do not agree on which of these issues should be prioritized, it will be difficult for them to come up with an effective treatment plan together," Dr. Donna Zulman, the lead author, said in a statement.

Zulman said both the doctor's and patient's priorities are valid, but previous studies have found issues like pain interfere with a person's ability to manage their diabetes.

"So putting these types of symptomatic problems on the back-burner might lead to worse outcomes in diabetes and other chronic conditions," Zulman said.