The ADA president revealed that educating diabetes health care professionals would benefit people living with diabetes.
During ADA 84Number At the scientific session in Orlando, Patty Urbanski sent a clear message: Diabetes education works.
In his presentation, titled “Lessons Learned – Diabetes Education for Each and Every One,” Urbanski weaved together his experiences as an adolescent diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and a diabetes educator with over 35 years of experience in the clinic, highlighting ongoing research and available data on the effectiveness of diabetes education.
Additionally, she reviewed data showing the significant impact of Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) and medical nutrition therapy.
Diabetes education programs must go through an accreditation process, such as the ADA's Educational Accreditation Program, in order to receive reimbursement for diabetes education services through Medicare and other payers.
Summarizing the 2023 data, Urbanski found that 75% of participants in certified diabetes education programs saw an average reduction in A1C of 1.4%, as well as reductions in hospitalizations, emergency room visits and weight loss.
She said: “Given the A1C reductions reported with diabetes medications, this is pretty impressive, especially when you consider the average cost of diabetes education compared to the cost of medication.”
As noted in the ADA's 2024 Standards of Care, DSMES is also associated with improved quality of life, reduced risk of all-cause mortality, positive coping behaviors and reduced health care costs, she added.
Urbanski also emphasized the importance of training and mentoring clinical staff, especially in primary care settings, and providing them with opportunities to learn about diabetes education.
She spoke about the Duluth Family Medicine Residency Program, the first residency program in the nation to incorporate an ADA-accredited educational program.
She said it's important that diabetes educators are embedded within primary care teams and provide services where patients are most comfortable.
Urbanski highlighted lessons learned from three cases where diabetes education programs have been successfully integrated into primary care: University of Washington Medicine Primary Care Clinic in Seattle, Prisma Health in Greenville, South Carolina, and Aspirus St. Luke's in Duluth, Minnesota.
She said: “There is a demand for diabetes education, so long as we can provide a flexible service that meets the needs of clinics and the health system.”
The ADA Education Certification Program currently has 1,300 certified diabetes education programs and approximately 3,700 facilities where education is offered.
Urbanski said the number of programs has decreased over the past few years while educational facilities have increased.
She noted that most diabetes education programs report that their services are provided in outpatient hospital or specialty endocrinology settings, rather than primary care clinics.
She reviewed some of the ADA's programs and initiatives focused on expanding diabetes education into primary care settings.
“The time is now. We need to collect and disseminate information from successful programs, learn best practices, provide programming support to existing education programs, and expand their services into primary care,” Urbanski concluded.