Right now, there are more than 30 different medicines available to treat type 2 diabetes. With all those choices, have you ever wondered how your doctor decides which medicine to give you? Recently, researchers set out to learn just what doctors consider when choosing a medicine for a particular patient. They surveyed 886 doctors, some generalists and some diabetes specialists, for an inside view of what matters and what doesn’t.

When choosing a drug for a newly diagnosed patient, doctors say that their first thoughts are about the patient’s overall health. Rounding out the top five considerations are how high the patient’s blood sugar level is, the patient’s weight, the doctor’s usual preference, and how likely the patient is to stick with the treatment plan.

When deciding whether to prescribe insulin, doctors said they think most about  the extent of laboratory-measured blood sugar elevation, patient-measured blood sugar, and the patient’s overall health. The generalists named several factors that steered them away from ordering insulin:  the patient’s fearing or not wanting it, and the patient’s wish to give diet, exercise, and oral medicines more time to work. The specialists, on the other hand, said that nothing gets in their way when they believe insulin is needed.

What does your doctor think about when he or she puts pen to prescription pad? The best way to find out is to ask.