Practice Consideration
Multidisciplinary Diabetes and Self Management Education
Specialist dietitians and allied health-care professionals play an important role in helping the patient to address nutrition as part of the patients Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME). Treating dietitians with specialized diabetes-care skills may take on an expanded role, addressing changes not only in the patient’s dietary intake and physical activity but also changes in the patient’s medication. The same kind of overlap can be expected with the care provided by other allied health-care professionals, such as nurses, pharmacists and exercise physiologists. These practitioners may likewise offer specialized skill in treating or managing diabetes, and they may offer nutrition advice as part of an overall diabetes self-management program.
This overlap in skills and avenues of treatment makes it essential for patients being trained in managing their condition to receive coordinated care from those participating in their treatment, the goal being for the nutrition care delivered by the dietitian to complement or be integrated with the other DSME programs in which the patient is participating.
According to the American Diabetes Association, “People with diabetes should receive diabetes self-management education and diabetes self-management support (DSMS) according to the national standards for DSME and DSMS, when their diabetes is diagnosed and as needed thereafter. Evidence ‘Grade B’ (supportive evidence from well conducted cohort or case-control study).” (1)
References
1. American Diabetes Association. Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes 2017. Diabetes Care. 2017; 40 (Suppl. 1).
This overlap in skills and avenues of treatment makes it essential for patients being trained in managing their condition to receive coordinated care from those participating in their treatment, the goal being for the nutrition care delivered by the dietitian to complement or be integrated with the other DSME programs in which the patient is participating.
According to the American Diabetes Association, “People with diabetes should receive diabetes self-management education and diabetes self-management support (DSMS) according to the national standards for DSME and DSMS, when their diabetes is diagnosed and as needed thereafter. Evidence ‘Grade B’ (supportive evidence from well conducted cohort or case-control study).” (1)
References
1. American Diabetes Association. Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes 2017. Diabetes Care. 2017; 40 (Suppl. 1).
Updated September 20, 2017