Accessibility of medical care and adherence to it of the main contingent of patients with diabetes mellitus complicated by diabetic retinopathy.

Relevance. A frequent cause of disability and mortality in patients with diabetes mellitus is the development of severe complications. Mainly, against the background of diabetes, the microcirculatory vascular bed suffers, including the retina. In this case, a disease such as diabetic retinopathy develops, which is accompanied by a gradual decrease in vision, up to complete blindness, mainly due to the development of diabetic macular edema. Prevention and treatment of edema is a complex and extremely resource-intensive task, therefore the aim of the study was to assess the level of availability of treatment and diagnostic measures for the main contingent of patients with diabetes mellitus complicated by diabetic retinopathy, as well as to determine the degree of adherence of such patients to regular examinations by doctors of various specialties and to identify the main factors influencing it. The research methods used were analytical and statistical (calculation of extensive indicators) analysis of the results of a sociological anonymous survey of patients with diabetes mellitus. As a result, the main reasons for the low adherence of patients with diabetic retinopathy to regular monitoring by ophthalmologists were established. In addition, it turned out that not every patient can afford expensive clinical diagnostic procedures. It follows from this that it is necessary to modernize the main aspects of providing medical care to patients with diabetes mellitus and its complications by increasing the availability of the most important methods of diagnosis and treatment.