For Care Managers
Collaborative teams that provide continuous, supportive, and effective care are ideal for the prevention and management of chronic diseases like diabetes.
Your diabetes care team
The benefits of diabetes team care may include:
- Reduced risk factors for diabetes
- Improved diabetes management
- Lowered risk for diabetes complications
- Efficient patient education
- Improved glycemic control
- Increased patient follow-up
- Higher patient satisfaction
- Improved quality of life
- Reduced hospitalizations
- Decreased health care costs
The Diabetes Care Team: Essential questions
Effective team care in diabetes: What does it look like?
The following are recommended to successfully promote team care in the treatment of patients with diabetes:
- Commitment and support of organizational leaders
- Active participation by the patient and health care professional team members
- A functional information system to identify patient population
- Adequate financial and professional resources
- Efficient payment mechanisms for team care services
Flexible care plans help meet specific needs in patients with diabetes
Because individual diabetes care team members are rarely involved in every aspect of patient care, a flexible plan helps determine the most effective use of team resources and provides needed flexibility. For example:
| Podiatrists | • Treat people with foot-related injuries and conditions. Provide routine foot care examinations |
| Pharmacist | • Assist patients who need drug therapy for their diabetes |
| Nurse educators, diabetes educators, and care managers | • Provide patient education, support, and drug management services |
| Eye care professionals (optometrists and ophthalmologists) | • Provide comprehensive eye and vision care for patients |
| Psychologist/Social worker | • May be part of a team providing child and adolescent care |
| Dental professionals | • Conduct oral examinations; provide oral health education |
An opportunity exists for HCPs and health care organizations to work together toward a common goal:
• Improving the health of people with diabetes
To achieve this goal, team-oriented diabetes care should continuously strive to seek new ways to improve patient well-being and accurately assess all associated costs.
NEXT PAGE: COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES: SURVEILLANCE AND MANAGEMENT
