Survey of family doctors' attitudes towards statin treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Aims: Clinical guidelines advocate that cardiovascular benefits of statin treatment overweigh the risk of impairment of glucose metabolism. The aim of the study was to examine the attitudes of family doctors towards statin treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: We disseminated a questionnaire examining doctors' attitudes to existing clinical guidelines and the factors leading to a doctor's decision to prescribe statins to diabetic patients.

Results: Clinical policy and guidelines were defined by doctors as having the greatest influence on the decision to prescribe statins for diabetic patients particularly by salaried doctors in comparison to self-employed doctors (χ = 9.138, df = 3, p ≤ 0.01). When considering the ways healthcare services can assist cholesterol control, monetary compensation yielded higher importance by young doctors compared to mature doctors (χ = 8.15, df = 2, p ≤ 0.01), while nursing services in the clinic yielded higher importance by mature doctors in comparison to younger doctors(χ = 13.7, df = 2, p ≤ 0.01).

Conclusions: Doctors defined a list of priorities for organizational support mechanisms that are likely to lead to the formation of an intervention plan for increasing the percentage of balanced cholesterol levels in patients with diabetes.