If you are a member of the Diabetes Technology COI, you have seen this already. I wanted to share my latest blog post about Diabetes Technology on our CT AADE Blog for your thoughts and input. Thank you, LaurieAnn
Put on Your Big Diabetes Tech Hat
For this blog post, I am going to be wearing my big diabetes tech hat. For those of you who do not know what I mean, I simply mean that I am going to be speaking from a far-reaching perspective about diabetes technology. Since joining this Community of interest (COI), I have had the pleasure of a front row seat to many of your discussions around all types of technology in the diabetes space, attended conferences, learned about available resources on DANA and spoken to many members about the technology that they use in practice for patient care and to function day to day. I do want to acknowledge that access to technology is not guaranteed – I know that we have a long way to go until that is a reality. Carla is attending ISPAD (International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes) as I write this and reminded me that “many parts of the world are still dealing with fixed dose insulin and 1 syringe per week” – but that is a blog post for another day! So even if a Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (DCES) is not in a tech-oriented practice or does not feel that they are particularly tech savvy, they still do recognize that they need to be for the future of diabetes care.
And that is where we fit in as a COI. I hope that since you are a member, you recognize that you have an important role as an "ambassador" of technology – a 'mentor' of sorts to others who do not feel as comfortable as you do with the technology that you use every day. And I am not just speaking about CGM’s or pumps or glucometers. I am also speaking about Electronic Health Records and the health apps that people with diabetes use to manage their day to day lives and the platforms that you are expected to use for looking at patient generated health data. Interfacing with technology is fast becoming a requirement and not every DCES is comfortable with that interface. We as members of the Diabetes Technology COI may be more comfortable (or not – some of you may be here to achieve that goal), but as COI members, I hope that you would be willing to help those who are not. Since we all know that technology is here to stay and we cannot run or hide because it is most likely just going to increase in use, we need to encourage others to choose even one type of new technology that they feel would be a best fit for them and their clientele and just start learning.
Over the next couple of months, you will be hearing more from Carla, me, and AADE about the role of the Diabetes Care and Education Specialist about technology integration. Since diabetes affects so many people, we need to use all the available technology to the best of our ability. I know that many of you believe that the right to technology should be a right for everyone with diabetes and not just to those who live close to a center, who can afford it, or who happen to be working with someone who is comfortable with technology. So, I am putting out a call to action, speak to your colleagues, help someone who is not as comfortable as you are and see how you can mentor them. Go to DANA and participate in one of the educational offerings (many are low cost or free and provide continuing education credits) and share these resources with other members, reach out to diabetes technology companies and see what they can offer to you to learn more about pumps, telehealth, apps, glucometers, CGM’s, etc. And let everyone know that no one is expected to know it all – they just need to know where to find the information – DANA and this COI - and who to ask -another DCES!
Happy sharing and learning, LaurieAnn