In 1986, the Indian Health Service (IHS) Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention (DDTP) developed its first IHS Standards of Care for Diabetes.  Over the past 26 years, these recommendations have helped health care professionals provide excellence in diabetes care to American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN).

To keep these guidelines current with the ever-changing field of diabetes care, the IHS DDTP and the Area Diabetes Consultants (ADCs) have updated  the IHS Standards of Care and Clinical Practice Recommendations: Type 2 Diabetes and made them available on-line for easy reference.

The IHS Division of Diabetes endorses and supports the current American Diabetes Association (ADA) Clinical Practice Recommendations as the foundation of excellence in diabetes.  The current IHS Standards of Care  differ from the ADA clinical practice recommendations by bringing focus to the specific care issues of American Indians and Alaska Native adults with diabetes, placing greater emphasis on the prevention of complications that are most notable in this population.  

As such, these recommendations do not include clinical guidelines on the care of people with type 1 diabetes.  The ADA Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2012 thoroughly address the issues of the diagnosis and treatment of type 1 diabetes, and providers are encouraged to refer to these for guidance.  (The ADA Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2012 are available online at:  http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/35/Supplement_1/S11.full