I was fortunate to be able to attend AADE16 in San Diego, CA. The four days were packed with education sessions, exhibit time, and networking opportunities.
The conference theme: Embrace Change, Strengthen Our Future, Celebrate! captured the essence of the meeting – embracing our rapidly evolving health care system, strengthening the profession of diabetes educators, and celebrating our many successes and change champions. Over 100 sessions were offered on topics including telehealth, health coaching, diabetes apps, and obesity to name a few. Here are highlights from two of my favorites:
Diabetes Management Across the Spectrum of Kidney Disease: The speakers highlighted the importance of following trends when evaluating kidney function, why/when we use eGFR vs. CrCl, and differences between the KDOQI and KDIGO guidelines. As we followed a patient with declining kidney function, the speakers reviewed medications that are preferred or should be used with caution at different stages of kidney disease.
Improving Medication Adherence in Diabetes: Drs. O’Neal and Polonsky reviewed the WHO dimensions of adherence and stressed the importance of communication. Each 10% increase in adherence correlates with a 0.16% decrease in A1C. Consider describing adherence as “poor” or “inconsistent”, rather than using the term “non-adherence”.
In addition to the great sessions offered, there was ample time to learn about new products in the exhibit hall and network with colleagues. The Massachusetts chapter participated in the Coordinating Body and Communities of Interest Networking Reception, where we displayed a poster highlighting our recent statewide conference and advocacy efforts, and held a Massachusetts reception, where we had the opportunity to meet other local educators.
I value the opportunities the conference provided to listen and learn from fellow attendees and returned from the meeting reinvigorated with new ideas and knowledge to use in my practice. I look forward to AADE17 in Indianapolis!