Factors associated with regular interprofessional interaction by doctors of optometry in management of patients with diabetes mellitus

The survey was completed by 668 doctors of optometry who examined patients with diabetes in the previous year. The average age of respondents was 47 years and 54.7% were male. Half (46.0%) practice in the private setting, and 15.7% manage ≥30 patients with diabetes per week. The majority of respondents (96.9%) interact with other healthcare professionals at least once a year and 59.4% interact regularly; 65.6% are satisfied with their interprofessional interaction. Controlling for other factors, doctors of optometry who practice in a rural area [Odds ratio (OR) (95% CI) = 2.81 (1.78-4.44)], spend ≥40% of practice time managing ocular diseases [2.56 (1.75-3.73)], manage ≥30 diabetes patients per week [1.88 (1.07-3.31)], have residency training [1.64 (1.11-2.42)], or have a greater number of years in practice [1.02 (1.01-1.04)] were associated with higher likelihood of regular interprofessional interaction. Doctors of optometry who regularly participate in interprofessional interaction were more likely to be satisfied with their interactions [3.54 (2.54-4.95)] and more likely to believe that team-based care makes a difference in patient outcomes [2.15 (1.01-4.57)] and in patient satisfaction [1.81 (1.00-3.26)]. The barriers to caring for patients with diabetes included patients' lack of diabetes knowledge (41.6% greatly impact/entirely impact) and lack of access to medical information (30.5% greatly impact/entirely impact).