5 Things to Look for at Patient-Centered Diabetes Care 2016

This week is the 4th annual Patient-Centered Diabetes Care (PCDC), co-hosted by The American Journal of Managed Care and Joslin Diabetes Center. There is still time to register for the meeting, which will be held April 7-8 in Teaneck, NJ.

The meeting offers unique perspectives on emerging topics in diabetes care from today’s leading health experts. Here we highlight the top 5 things to look forward to at this year’s meeting.

1. Lonny Reisman, MD, will give the keynote

The CEO of HealthReveal, Dr Reisman will speak on the morning of the second day of the meeting. His keynote will be on big data in diabetes care. Diabetes is costs the United States $245 billion in 2012 and diabetic complications account for 48% to 64% of the lifetime medical cost.

Dr Reisman will discuss how big data can be used to fuel a learning healthcare system. Big data can improve diabetes care by providing preventive care instead of reactive treatment, improving patient engagement, identifying patterns in population health, optimizing care, and using advanced analytics to predict cost and adverse outcomes.

2. Learn the latest in clinical management updates

In session 2 of PCDC, Yehuda Handelsman, MD, FACP, FACE, FNLA, of the Metabolic Institute of America, will discuss insulin management; and Joanna Mitri, MD, MS, of Joslin Diabetes Center, will discuss reducing cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetes. Dr Mitri will then sit on a panel with S. Sethu Reddy, MD, MBA, FRCPC, FACP, MACE, from Joslin Diabetes Center, and Scott Breidbart, MD, MBA, of EmblemHealth, to discuss paying for adherence.

Dr Handelsman will cover patient-reported insulin concerns, such as that injections interfere with eating or exercise and that many patients simply dread taking their injections. In addition, he will cover what insulin is currently available for type 2 diabetes treatment, as well as future combinations that will be available.

Dr Mitri will talk about the cardiovascular risks facing patients with diabetes and the need for effective interventions for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. In addition, she will discuss the important of lifestyle management in diabetes, such as nutrition guidelines, increased physical activity, and smoking cessation.

3. Obesity as a disease

The idea of obesity being a disease is still in its infancy, and much of the medical community has not even accepted it. In addition, there is still much stigma surrounding obesity, which is often simply seen as poor lifestyle choices.

The third session at PCDC will cover obesity and diabetes. Janine Kyrillos, MD, FACP, of Thomas Jefferson University, will discuss obesity being recognized as a disease, and Ted Kyle, RPh, MBA, founder of ConscienHealth, will follow with a presentation on improving coverage of obesity treatments.

Kyle will then sit on a panel with Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, of Harvard Medical School, and Deneen Vojta, MD, of United Health Group, to discuss overcoming barriers to access. For example, when it comes to bariatric surgery, remaining employer biases often drive the decision to not include bariatric surgery as a covered benefit.

4. Technology and diabetes care

The last session of the day will include talks on the impact of electronic health records and teamwork on diabetes care—from Ilana Graetz, PhD, of the Uniersity of Tennessee Health Science Center—and preventing diabetes through digital behavioral medicine—from Mike Payne, MD, MBA, of Omada Health.

In addition, the last panel of the conference will be a discussion on telehealth in diabetes care with David Brumley, MD, MBA, of Tufts Health Plan, moderating a panel with Tearsanee C. Davis, DNP, APRN-BC, of the University of Mississippi, Anne Schmidt, MD, of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, and Kristen McGovern, of the Alliance for Connected Care.

The panel members will discuss opportunities and barriers to broader use of telehealth in diabetes, reimbursement challenges, and what makes diabetes care and monitoring a good fit for telehealth.

5. Attendees will have the opportunity to sit in on the filming of a new Peer Exchange

Peer Exchanges provide multi-stakeholder perspectives on important issues as the healthcare landscape evolves. The new Peer Exchange being film is “Reducing Cardiovascular Mortality in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.” The panel will be moderated by Dennis Scanlon, PhD, of Penn State University, with panelists Zachary Bloomgarden, MD, of Mount Sinai Hospital; Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, FACP, of Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School and the chair of PCDC; and Michael Gardner, MD, of the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

The Peer Exchange is scheduled for 2 hours before PCDC kicks off at 4:30 pm on Thursday. To learn more, see the full agenda.