[Educating the diabetic patient as a basis for therapy].

Since the late 1970's, diabetes therapy has been revolutionized and, in fact, new treatment strategies have been initiated by patient education and the resulting self-monitoring of the patient. The modern management of the chronic lifelong disease diabetes mellitus not only requires the prescription of the appropriate nutritional and pharmacologic regimen by the physician, but also intensive education and counselling of the patient. It is the diabetic himself who ultimately has to secure the treatment as given by the physician in daily life and--in so doing--has to provide a great deal of self-care and self-control. Meeting the individual treatment goal is largely dependent upon the cooperation and motivation of the patient, with the physician as both the sympathetic and critical counterpart. Today, education is the indispensible prerequisite for the limited well-being and health of diabetics and, at this end, education is equal to therapy.