Physicians' Corner-Shopping for Basal Insulin on the Coffee Aisle: Lots of Choices for Lots of Tastes

Charles F. Shaefer, Jr., MD, FACP, FCCP

I think most clinicians would agree that there has been widespread acceptance of the use of basal insulin in the primary care community.  In recent months, I have rarely encountered primary care practitioners who are uncomfortable with initiation and titration of basal insulin. Most practitioners understand and accept its utility in the diabetes treatment paradigm. When I do find confusion relating to basal insulin, I have been impressed that it relates most often to uncertainty about which product to use.