Most type 2 diabetes in Australia is managed in general practice, coordinated through a structured annual framework. Knowing how it's meant to work makes it easier to tell whether you're getting it.
Your GP coordinates care
Your GP diagnoses, initiates and adjusts treatment, monitors complications, and refers on where needed. Continuity is genuinely valuable here — trends across visits carry information that any single reading doesn't.
The annual cycle of care
A structured schedule of checks that should happen each year:
- HbA1c at appropriate intervals
- Blood pressure
- Lipids
- Kidney function, including urine testing for protein
- Eye examination
- Foot examination
- Weight and waist
- Review of medications, diet, activity and smoking
Verify: current recommended frequencies for each component.
Worth knowing: completion rates for the full cycle are lower than they should be nationally. If you can't recall having your eyes or feet checked in the past year, ask. Both detect problems at a stage where they're treatable.
Chronic disease management plans
Your GP can prepare a plan that structures your care and provides Medicare rebates for a limited number of allied health visits per year — dietitian, exercise physiologist, podiatrist, diabetes educator among them.
This is significantly underused. If cost has been a barrier to seeing a dietitian or podiatrist, this is the conversation to have.
Verify: current visit limits and eligibility.
The NDSS
The National Diabetes Services Scheme provides subsidised products and services to registered Australians with diabetes, including testing supplies. Registration is free, through a health professional.
Verify: current scope and registration process.
Diabetes educators
Credentialled Diabetes Educators provide practical education on monitoring, medication use, food and daily management. Often the most practically useful appointment in the pathway, and frequently overlooked.
Specialist referral
Referral to an endocrinologist is typically for complex or difficult-to-control diabetes, complications, uncertainty about type, or specific circumstances such as pregnancy. Most people don't need one.
Referrals to other specialists — ophthalmology, nephrology, podiatry — follow from the annual checks.
Getting more from your care
- Ask which parts of the cycle of care are outstanding
- Ask whether a chronic disease management plan would help you
- Ask what your last HbA1c was and what your target is
- Ask whether your liver has been assessed — the two conditions frequently coexist
- Book longer appointments for review discussions
Related: Diagnosis and monitoring · Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver Next: Find a GP or diabetes service →
Educational information only. Not a substitute for medical advice — speak to a qualified health practitioner about your circumstances.