This week I happened to run into a physician friend I had not seen for a while. While we were chatting, I noticed that he must have gotten at least six pages from his answering service. Each time he had to call in and listen to the operator describe the problem.
After the last page, he told me that three of the patients might need an immediate call but he needed more information, two of the calls were really for his office staff, and one patient he had to advise to go to the ER. He complained that most of these messages were incomplete and he would often have to call patients to get more information.
Technology can make this much easier and simpler. Using both voice to text messaging and voice mail, calls can go straight to the clinician so that they can hear exactly what the patient is saying. To make it even easier, companies like Ringadoc can provide a system that allows a clinician to either contact the patient or send them a message via text or voice with the information they need. With patient loads increasing, clinicians need simple and effective ideas like these to more efficiently care for patients.
"aP2" is a hormone that is found in adipose tissue and that may play a key role in the release of glucose. To learn more about this research please check out this week's Item #12.
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Announcements:
Topics: Nat Strand takes us through planning a diabetes-friendly wedding; Chef Michel Nischan cooks up a hearty, spicy casserole with a potato crust; Jim Turner finds out what people would do if they didn't have diabetes for 24 hours; Lynn Prowitt returns to Palmer's Market to teach us how to fill our carts with diabetes-friendly foods. Sundays live online at dLifeTV.com at 7 PM ET, 6 PM CT, and 4 PM PT.
Keep up on the latest dLife news at dLifeTV.com.
With a day packed full of education, motivational tools, one-on-one sessions, and workshops, the TCOYD health fair is a great way to get your patients to take better care of their health and themselves.
TCOYD.com
Please answer this week's poll: What test do you use to screen for prediabetes?
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We can make a difference!
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Dave Joffe, Editor-in-chief … Read More
The American Diabetes Association's Safe at School Health Care Provider Toolkit contains a poster for display in the provider office describing how to obtain information and help with school diabetes care matters. It also contains other resources for the provider to share with families to help make sure their child receives needed diabetes care in the school setting. 
The FDA has approved a new lipid-lowering combination tablet (Liptruzet) that includes atorvastatin and ezetimibe. The tablet is available as a once-daily tablet containing 10 mg of ezetimibe combined with 10, 20, 40, or 80 mg of atorvastatin, can be used to treat elevated LDL-cholesterol levels. Dosage range is 10/10 mg/day through 10/80 mg/day, with a recommended starting dose of 10/10 mg/day or 10/20 mg/day. For patients requiring a >55% reduction in LDL-C, the recommended starting dose is 10/40 mg/day. 
Drug Information contains the industry's most comprehensive drug information and is backed by the same thorough, unbiased editorial process as Micromedex. Now from anywhere, clinical care teams can instantly get information to support confident treatment decisions.
