Management of the Diabetic Patient in the Diagnostic Care Pathway

Diabetes is a complex pathology both for the affected patients and for the medical specialists who follow them. Furthermore, since diabetes is a pathology with a high prevalence and incidence, it is essential to intervene effectively in therapeutic actions through the application of common guidelines. Therefore, in order to improve the management of the diabetic patient, the aim of the work is to define a Diagnostic Therapeutic Assistance Pathway (PDTA). A questionnaire-based approach is adopted for data collection from 136 patients at the Clinical Dermatology Unit of the University Hospital “Federico II”. In most cases (64%) the diagnosis was made by the General Practitioner, 15% of patients obtained the diagnosis at the ASL and 12% at the Polyclinic of Naples AOU “Federico II” and the remaining part from the diabetologist specialist. The second access is generally carried out at the “Federico II” AOU (66%), followed by the ASL (17%), by a doctor specialized in diabetology (12%) while no patient has turned to the General Practitioner for the treatment of diabetes. The final visit is carried out at the “Federico II” AOU in almost cases. The data obtained follow the Italian guidelines: the patients get the diagnosis from the Family Doctor and then they are addressed either to ASL or to diabetologists specialists. For the subsequent visits, most of them prefer to turn to the “Federico II” AOU, especially when they have complications associated with the diseases as they are followed in a more careful and satisfying manner.