Letter from the Editor #502

Happy New Year from all of us at Diabetes in Control. We look forward to bringing you another year of the best in information, tools and articles from the world’s experts.

Diabetes care has now moved to the electronic forefront as the Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas this week has a whole new exhibit hall dedicated to healthcare monitoring devices. This show, which we will be covering, and is attended by over 20,000 electronics industry insiders, for the first time has dedicated significant space to devices to monitor, transmit and evaluate medical outcomes.

Sheri Colberg, Ph.D., FACSM and I were discussing the way that patients seem to think that the New Year means new habits and new resolutions. They have the greatest plans and ideas and spend lots of money on equipment and then give up. I asked her how we could help our patients and so she came up with Five Things Every Person with Diabetes Should Know About Exercise. 

Over the past couple of years we have reported on the use of Metabolic Activation Therapy and how it benefits patients with diabetes. Many endocrinologists offer this therapy in their offices and the results patients experience seem to be well documented. Now CMS has issued a ruling that Medicare will not cover outpatient intravenous insulin therapy for diabetes or other conditions and so many patients will no longer be eligible for the therapy. In its memo CMS said, “The design issues make it difficult to determine whether the investigational treatment actually results in health benefits and whether any apparent benefit is due to increases in patient supervision and support, increased insulinization (which could also be achievable by more aggressive standard therapy), or the putative unique aspects of the … intervention.”

 

dLife helps sports fans win with the best food choices in the stadium, sports bar, and right at home. Plus, hear from the Centers for Disease Control’s Ann Albright, a major player in the government’s effort to combat diabetes. And in the dLife kitchen: a delicious one-pot chicken dish. Make the most of your dLife and don’t miss an episode: Sundays on CNBC at 7 PM ET, 6 PM CT, and 4 PM PT Catch up on dLife.com.

 

TCOYD Announces 2010 National Conference Schedule: Click here for Schedule.

 

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We can make a difference!

 

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

Dave Joffe, Editor-in-chief