Diabetes Health Center

Diabetes Complications Cost Billions

How to Manage Diabetes

Einhorn tells WebMD that the report makes it clear that patients are suffering needlessly because of poor disease management.

"We have the tools to do it right, so it is clear that we have not focused enough on early detection, early and aggressive treatment, and prevention of complications," he says.

He adds that the patients he sees as medical director of San Diego's Scripps Whittier Institute for Diabetes tend to be educated about the lifestyle changes they need to make to keep their diabetes under control, and they usually receive aggressive, early drug treatment with a combination of medications, if needed.

"As a result we don't see many complications," he says. "We are living proof that complications don't have to happen."

Einhorn points out that patients with early diabetes or those at high risk for developing the disease have traditionally been told to lose weight, exercise, and make other lifestyle changes.

Good advice, he says, but something that most patients just can't or won't do.

"The problem with telling people to go make all these lifestyle changes and come back in six months, is that six months becomes a year and people who need to be on medication often go without treatment for extended periods," he says.

"As a result, 50% of patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes today already have complications that took some years to develop. We are obviously late to the game."