Challenges Involved in Incorporating Personalised Treatment Plan as Routine Care of Patients with Diabetes

Ranjit Unnikrishnan,1 Venkatesan Radha,2 Viswanathan Mohan1 1Department of Diabetology, Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai, India; 2Department of Molecular Genetics, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai, IndiaCorrespondence: Viswanathan MohanDr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, IDF Centre of Excellence in Diabetes Care & Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, ICMR Centre for Advanced Research on Diabetes No 4, Conran Smith Road, Gopalapuram, Chennai, 600 086, IndiaTel +9144 4396 8888Fax +9144 2835 0935Email drmohans@diabetes.ind.inAbstract: Diabetes is a heterogenous disorder, and patients with this disorder vary considerably in their clinical presentation, response to therapy and risk of complications. Expanding knowledge about the pathophysiology of various forms of diabetes has raised the possibility that diagnostic and therapeutic modalities can be tailored to the individual patient in a personalized manner. The recent publication of a Consensus Statement on precision diabetes care underlines the major strides made in this field in the recent past. However, while personalized diabetes care has the potential to significantly improve outcomes in patients with diabetes in a safe and cost-effective manner, its wider application presents several challenges, especially in resource-strained settings. These challenges pertain equally to precision diagnostics, precision therapeutics and precision monitoring. This article discusses some of the important challenges that care providers are likely to face in applying the personalized approach in caring for their patients with diabetes, in the context of diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and monogenic forms of diabetes. Suggestions are also presented for overcoming some of these challenges.Keywords: type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, monogenic forms of diabetes, personalised treatment