Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), insulin pumps, automated insulin delivery (AID) systems, smart pens, diabetes tech now turns up in primary care, inpatient units, the pharmacy counter, schools and camps. But most clinicians were never trained as specialists in any of it. Let's change that.
The Diabetes Technology Key Focus Areas are danatech’s framework for the skills this work takes, broken into ten areas you can build one at a time.
“Know diabetes tech” was and is too big to act on. We split the work into ten distinct skill areas so you can see how all the parts fit together and where to focus first for your role.
Each area is scoped to a real clinical moment: starting a device, reading the data, knowing when something’s outside your scope of practice. This framework shows the areas most relevant to your role, so you know where to begin.
How much of this map applies to you depends on your role and setting. Some roles touch only a few of these areas; others, like diabetes care and education specialists, work across nearly all of them. The danatech Compass asks for your role, your setting and what you’re working on, then suggests where to begin, so you start in the right place rather than everywhere at once.
Open any area to see what it covers and its key takeaways, then go to its clinical skills page for tools and education.
What it covers
What it covers
What it covers
What it covers
What it covers
What it covers
What it covers
What it covers
What it covers
What it covers
Answer three questions about your role, your setting and what you’re working on. The danatech Compass suggests a starting focus and three resources to begin with.
danatech is a program of the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists (ADCES), providing diabetes technology education for the whole care team.
The Diabetes Technology Key Focus Areas are an educational framework to guide professional development. They support, and do not replace, clinical judgment, institutional protocols or device-specific manufacturer guidance.
DISCLAIMERS:
This site and its services do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your diabetes care and education specialist or health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. To find a diabetes care and education specialist near you, visit the ADCES finder tool.
ADCES and danatech curate product specifics and periodically review them for accuracy and relevance. As a result, the information may or may not be the most recent. We recommend visiting the manufacturer's website for the latest details if you have any questions.
danatech, powered by ADCES, helps the whole care team choose, start, use and support diabetes technology with confidence.