The National Standards for DSMES: a writer’s perspective
Ardis Reed , MPH,RD,LD,CDE
Ardis Reed , MPH,RD,LD,CDE
TMF Health Quality Institute, Austin, Texas
Being selected to be on the National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) writing team was an honor. This rewarding experience demonstrates how AADE and ADA collaborate to ensure that these standards keep up with the latest in program management, behavioral health science and adult learning strategies.
The National Standards for DSMES are a structured, evidence-based process to help you provide sustainable, patient-centric, quality education. These standards are the backbone that supports the work of diabetes educators; without them, it would be difficult to validate that our DSMES services provide positive, sustainable patient outcomes.
It is easy to forget that the standards are here as a guide for us and not just a hoop to jump through for reimbursement. Sometimes, we don’t even look at the standards unless a question comes up! As our joint organizations release the revised 2017 National Standards for DSMES, challenge yourself and your staff to do at least one of the following:
- Attend The Revised National Standards of DSMES session at AADE17. (Friday, August 4 at 5:00 pm)
- Pull up the document and go through each standard to better understand why your program does what it does
- Go through your standards and make sure they are up to date
- If you are in an AADE State Coordinating Body or Local Networking Group, use the standards as a topic to cover at your next meeting. Share best practices, barriers and stories of success. Talk about how your SERVICE (Yes, we are now using the term service instead of program) is going to make changes to keep up with the revised standards.
- Make it an additional challenge to see if you can identify what changes were made for the new revisions and reason through why those changes were made. (I already mentioned one change.)
One of the notable changes to the standards are the references to technology and patient-generated health data. How well do you understand all the new diabetes technologies (i.eCGM, apps, meters, downloads, data portals, etc)? Are you ready to revise your curriculum?
AADE17 is the perfect opportunity for you to review the revised standards and get a jump on all the latest diabetes technologies with great sessions and a jam-packed exhibit hall. I look forward to seeing you in Indy!
