Complexity of drug therapy and its implications for quality of diabetes care.

Diabetes is a leading cause of mortality, morbidity and disability around the globe. In the past two decades, diabetes care has grown more complex as patients have received multi-component care. Recent studies have illumined the complexity of drug therapy in patients with diabetes. A high level of drug utilization in diabetes patients has serious implications for quality of care, in terms of coordination of care, drug safety and access to care. Practitioners, researchers, payers and policy makers should be aware of these implications and incorporate the complexity of diabetes care into practice guidelines, benefit design and policy formulation to improve the quality of care.