Perspectives on Diabetes Care

Identify, Configure, Collaborate: A New Framework for Technology-Enabled Care

Aug 11, 2020, 12:28 PM

By LaurieAnn Scher, MS, RD, CDCES

Are you the one who other providers in your office turn to for more information about the latest pump feature, glucose monitoring device update or app that was recently downloaded by someone with diabetes? 

As a diabetes care and education specialist, you most likely are considered to be that resource… and for good reason. The diabetes care and education specialist is the professional in the office who works most collaboratively with the person with diabetes, other members of the healthcare team and industry to facilitate the effective use of technology for optimizing outcomes. 

Technology-enabled support (TES) has expanded over the years as the connected health environment has grown through the adoption of medical devices (pumps, pens, CGM), consumer devices (wearables, connected blood pressure cuffs and scales) and digital health products (wellness apps, digital therapeutics). These products are beneficial for improving individual and population health behaviors based on patient-generated health data (PGHD). They have placed the diabetes care and education specialist front and center as a key influencer and decision maker when it comes to leveraging technology-driven diabetes and cardiometabolic condition care, education and support.

It is well recognized that TES enhances self-management through PGHD, pattern analysis and artificial intelligence. TES provides deeper insight that is used for analysis and decision making, resulting in positive behavior change. The care team and those they serve work in partnership towards the goal of improved outcomes using the power of technology and feedback in the TES model. 

ADCES has published new guidance to help you implement technology-enabled support. A Framework for Optimizing Technology-Enabled Diabetes and Cardiometabolic Care and Education was written to provide a standardized framework for implementation and guide the incorporation of technology into the care plan. Called the ICC Framework, it stands for identify, configure and collaborate.  

Identify the needs and goals of the individual.

Configure the technology based on the person in front of you and their goals.

Collaborate with the individual, the healthcare team and industry to ensure that technology is relevant and useful. 

The framework leverages the skills of the diabetes care and education specialist to provide direction to advocate for the incorporation of technology into practice. It acts as a guide to determine how technology is incorporated into the care plan in an ever evolving healthcare landscape.

As diabetes care and education specialists, we have a responsibility to ensure that people have access to the best technology to help them manage their diabetes, prediabetes or other chronic conditions. By being able to identify, configure and collaborate, we can meet that responsibility and work together to help them individualize and reach their management goals. Learn more about this framework and technology-enabled support.

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Reference

Greenwood, D. A., Howell, F., Scher, L., Yousef, G., Rinker, J., Yehl, K., … Peeples, M. M. (2020). A Framework for Optimizing Technology-Enabled Diabetes and Cardiometabolic Care and Education: The Role of the Diabetes Care and Education Specialist. The Diabetes Educator, 46(4), 315–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145721720935125

The Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists Perspectives on Diabetes Care covers diabetes, prediabetes and other cardiometabolic conditions. Not all views expressed reflect the official position of the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists.

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HEALTHCARE DISCLAIMER: 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 healthcare 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 DiabetesEducator.org/Find.