Letter from the Editor: New Cardiology CME, Medical Homes, AADE Conference Info

Each time I sit down with a group of patients to talk about food choices for diabetes the topic of carbohydrates always comes up. I get a lot of groans when I talk about counting carbs and keeping track, but for the past few months I have been focusing on checking glucose before eating a meal and then 2 hours later, and if blood glucose goes up more than 30 mg/dl then the patient needs to decrease the number of carbohydrates at that meal.  I am happy to report that although this exercise seems relatively simple, it appears to be working very well. If you have any experience with this concept with your patients, please share your thoughts with us and e-mail me at editor@diabetesincontrol.com.

In our Clinical Mastery Series, we’ve spent a lot of time providing you with information about patient centered medical homes and shared medical appointments, and now a study of 10,000 patients by Penn State University has shown that the use of these PCMH’s and SMA’s has improved care in every disease state. To learn more, check out Item #10,  Diabetes Patients Do Better with Medical Home, and to find out how you can start SMA’s in your office, see the first article in our series, Understanding Shared Medical Appointments, Part 1.

Don’t forget that the AADE conference is just around the corner and we are looking forward to seeing you at our booth (#3412). We have some great treats — low carb snacks and a new food product that has no net carbs, no calories, and no soy or gluten! — as well as lots of other surprises; in fact, you may find one thing so interesting that “what you get in Vegas goes home from Vegas.” 

For all of you who have been waiting for new Continuing Education opportunities, we are very pleased to announce a new partnership with CardioCareLive. Check out their latest offerings, including two live online seminars next week, July 27th (ACS Heart Failure) and 28th (Diabetes). These course will be accessible through our CME page after the courses’ conclusion. In addition we will soon be offering much more free CME in conjunction with CardioCareLive in our new Cardiology specialty section.

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Announcements:

dLife.com: July 24, 7PM ET on CNBC

Topics: Season Premiere! An American Idol shares her diabetes challenges on the road to fame, and Jim Turner hits the streets to talk about diabetes fears. Plus, a low carb salad with a sweet and sour twist in the dLife kitchen. Sundays on CNBC at 7 PM ET, 6 PM CT, and 4 PM PT. Catch up on dLife.com.

TCOYD Mini-Series Event, San Diego, California, July 27, 2011, 6:30 – 8:30 pmeditor@diabetesincontrol.com

Join Steven Edelman, MD, and Robert Henry, MD, at the Preuss School Auditorium in San Diego, California, for an evening focused on the latest information on A New Generation of Drugs: Approved and In Development.

Please answer this week’s poll: Do you think industry sponsored CE/CME should be eliminated?

View last week’s poll results.

Check out this week’s “Test Your Diabetes Knowledge” question!

Dave Joffe, Editor-in-chief