OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated glycemic control after basal insulin initiation among patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted using electronic medical records (EMR) from General Electric (GE) health care. Adult patients with T2DM who initiated basal insulin between February 2006 and August 2009 were selected, and the date of insulin initiation was set as the index date. The proportion of patients reaching fasting plasma glucose (FPG) target (FPG between 70-130 mg/dL) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) target (HbA1c<7%) were reported. Time to reaching FPG and HbA1c targets was assessed, and Cox proportional hazard models were established to identify associated demographic and clinical factors. RESULTS: A total of 1473 patients (mean age 63.0 years; 51.3% female) were identified. Of them, 12% had baseline HbA1c ≤ 6.5, 7% had 6.5 < HbA1c ≤ 7, 23% had 7 < HbA1c ≤ 8, 21% had 8 < HbA1c ≤ 9, and 37% had HbA1c > 9. A higher proportion of patients reached the FPG target than the HbA1c target (52% vs. 45%) 12 months after insulin initiation. Patients reached the FPG target (median: 337 days, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 308-366) sooner than the HbA1c target (median: 490 days, 95% CI: 400-587). There was a greater variation in time to reaching the HbA1c target than the FPG target across groups of patients with different baseline HbA1c values. Baseline HbA1c level was the main factor influencing the time to reaching FPG or HbA1c target, with higher baseline HbA1c values associated with longer time to glycemic goal. CONCLUSIONS: About half of the patients with T2DM reached the glycemic goal after initiating basal insulin. Patients reached the FPG target sooner than the HbA1c target.