OBJECTIVES: To determine patterns of learning diabetes care and how this impacts medication adherence among respondents with diabetes prescribed oral antidiabetic (OAD) medications. METHODS: The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) household component full year consolidated data files (2010-2012) identified diabetes respondents (≥ 18 years) who received OAD medications and participated in the MEPS Diabetes Care Survey (DCS). Two groups were created from all eligible respondents based on how they learned diabetes care: 1) from a single primary care provider or medical specialist resource versus 2) multiple resources (medical provider plus internet and/or group classes). OAD medication adherence was measured using the medication possession ratio (MPR). Respondents with MPR ≥ 0.8 were defined as adherent. Logistic regression identified significant socioeconomic factors associated with the learning approach (single provider versus multiple resources) used to learn diabetes care. RESULTS:   A total of 1,347 respondents (58.5%, representing 12.6 million individuals in the U.S.) and 772 respondents (41.5%, representing 8.9 million individuals in the U.S.) learned about diabetes care from single resource and multiple resources respectively.  Respondents reporting ages younger than 65 years, college degrees, high income levels, and treated with diet modification were more likely to learn diabetes care from multiple resources. No significant difference in MPR was observed between respondents learning diabetes care from a single provider resource (MPR=0.66) versus multiple resources (MPR=0.64, p=0.245). Less than 45% of the respondents in both groups (single provider resource: 42.6%, multiple resources: 40.2%, p=0.352) were adherent to OAD medications. CONCLUSIONS: Age, income and education levels, and whether being treated with diet modification influenced the approach to learning about diabetes care. Using medical providers only or multiple resources to learn about diabetes care had no impact on the OAD medication adherence.