WellDoc, AADE Launch Diabetes Digital Health Learning Network

Digital health provider WellDoc and the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) this morning launched the “Diabetes Digital Health Learning Network,” which the 2 groups said would give diabetes educators “next-generation skills in using digital health therapeutics” to improve care for people living with diabetes and to find savings.

The partners made the joint announcement on the first day of AADE’s annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Earlier this year, WellDoc announced it would put AADE’s diabetes education curriculum on its BlueStar platform, an FDA-cleared digital therapeutic tool that gives personal coaching and support and allows data to be shared with a patient’s care team. WellDoc's other partnerships include one announced this spring for long-haul truckers, who have the highest diabetes rates of any job category, according to a recent Gallup-Sharecare survey.

The learning network will promote technology for diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES), an area of care that just received an updated set of standards. Self-identified AADE members who are leaders in DSMES will develop best practices for using technology to generate patient data to improve population health. WellDoc Vice President of Clinical Advocacy Malinda Peeples, RN, MS, CDE, FAADE, will lead the network; Peeples is a past president of AADE.

“As a digital health leader, WellDoc is proud to launch ‘The Diabetes Digital Health Learning Network’ in collaboration with AADE to support its members who are on the front lines of diabetes care and management,” said WellDoc President and CEO Kevin McRaith in a statement. “This is a natural progression of our already-established partnership with AADE,” he said.

More than 30 million people in the United States have diabetes, according to CDC. The ranks of patients grow while the number of family doctors and endocrinologists to treat them shrinks. This means certified diabetes educators (CDEs) are increasingly the foot soldiers in helping patients manage their disease. Digital tools are seen by many as an additional way to leverage the role of CDEs when patients are not receiving face-to-face care.

“Educators are at the epicenter of technology and patient care, and are poised to be leaders in this era of value-based healthcare,” said AADE CEO Charles MacFarlane, FACHE, CAE. “We are taking a proactive approach through this Learning Network collaboration with WellDoc to enable our members to create a future in which they utilize technology to improve the care of and support to people with diabetes.”

A select group of AADE members taking part in the network are already onboarding members with type 2 diabetes onto BlueStar.

AADE’s annual meeting runs through Monday, August 7.