Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Define the impact and causes of non-adherent type-2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) patients, possible solutions and the role of the different health care professionals involved in the treatment. DESIGN: Structured questionnaire rating by a two-round Delphi method. LOCATION: The study was conducted in the Primary Care settings. PARTICIPANTS: The expert panel consisted of renowned medical professionals with extensive experience in diabetes. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Assessment through a 9-point Likert scale, of the degree of agreement or disagreement on 131 items grouped into 4 blocks: impact; causes of nonadherence; diagnosis of non-adherence, and possible causes, solutions and role of the different professionals involved in adherence. RESULTS: The participation rate was 76.31%. The primary care health professionals agreed on 110 of the 131 proposals statements (84%), showing agreement on 102 items (77.9%) and disagreement in 8 (6.1%). Consensus was not reached on 21 items. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of adherence of DM2 patients makes the achievement of therapeutic control difficult. The medical practice needs to have specific training and enough resources to reduce the impact of the lack of therapeutic compliance.