Abu Dhabi: More than half of diabetes patients have kept an eye on their blood sugar levels during the past 10 months, a government survey revealed.
The result has left officials of the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) concerned about the welfare of a great number of diabetics who apparently are not monitoring their condition.
The survey among diabetics in the nation's capital revealed that 59 per cent keep tabs on their blood sugar level.
During the first day at the World Health Care Congress (WHCC) 2010, which the capital city has hosted for the first time, the HAAD announced a new initiative that includes making available clinical indicators while protecting patient confidentiality.
The initiative is HAAD's aim to help improve health care by sharing information about the quality of care patients receive.
HAAD officials shared a number of clinical indicators at the WHCC yesterday, some of which showed that 41 per cent of diabetics have not taken the HbA1C, a type of blood test that helps determine if a person's sugar level is under control.
The test results are sent to the laboratory, and are done on the spot in some hospital clinics.
A normal non-diabetic HbA1C is 3.5 to 5.5 per cent. For diabetics, about 6.5 per cent is good.
"Our HAAD guidelines recommend that diabetic patients do an HbA1C test regularly, at least once a year. Through the new system, clinical data will help identify why some patients are not getting tested and the tools we should take to ensure that there's quality health care being delivered," said Philipp Vetter, head of strategy at the HAAD.
