The impact of extended prescription report duration after the pandemic on the care process of patients with Type 2 Diabetes

The Impact of Extended Prescription Report Duration After the Pandemic on the Care Process of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Objective: This study aimed to monitor patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus, to assess their diabetes self-management status and associated factors, and to investigate the impact of extending prescription report durations on their care process. Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of patients with T2DM registered at the Family Medicine Unit No. 017 of the 3rd Family Health Center in Kozan, Adana. The research was conducted in two phases: the first phase was cross-sectional, and the second phase was retrospective. The period from one year before the COVID-19 lockdown-when prescription report durations were extended-until the study date was divided into five-time intervals for evaluation. Data were collected using a questionnaire form and the Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management Scale. Results: A total of 222 participants (mean age: 61.7 ± 9.9 years; range: 34-86 years) were included, of whom 64% were female. Overall, 56.3% had an HbA1c level above 7%, and 89.6% were in the very high cardiovascular risk category. The majority (94.6%) reported satisfaction with the extended prescription report policy during and after the pandemic. The mean total self-management score was 61.5 ± 10.6 (range: 32-94), with subscale scores of 40.9 ± 6.8 (healthy lifestyle behaviors), 12.5 ± 3.4 (blood glucose management), and 8.0 ± 3.6 (use of healthcare services). Lower self-management scores were observed among illiterate individuals, those living in rural areas, those with low income, those living alone, those without diabetes education, and those without a glucose meter (p<0.05). Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the proportion of patients who had an HbA1c test decreased from 70.7% to 56.3% (p<0.001), while hospital visits declined from 88.7% to 80.6% (p>0.05). In contrast, family medicine visits remained above 95% in all periods, including the pandemic. Conclusion: Although the pandemic situation has ended, the low health service utilization score seems to be related to the decrease in hospital visits due to the continuation of the policy of extending the drug report period. Keywords: Family Medicine, COVID-19, Diabetes Mellitus, Prescription, Follow-up, Self-Management