Which service is more effective for managing your diabetes?
Which service is more effective for managing your diabetes?Integrated Diabetes Services versus Clinic based Endocrinologists
Clinic based Endocrinologists:
Many people with diabetes, especially Type 1, receive their care by going to an endocrinology practice. They see their provider every three months. Often there are recommendations for how to improve blood sugar control and orders for insulin dose changes based upon a pump or CGM download, or other records. If you contact the office with a problem, depending upon how urgent the issue is, it might take up to several days to get a response. There may or may not be a Certified Diabetes Educator with the practice who can work with you. The practice may be very busy and take care of lots of people with diabetes who are mostly Type 2. The Endo deals with all endocrine hormone based issues so they are also working with a lot of thyroid patients as well. If you do not live in a major city, you might have to travel a great distance to see your endo which could mean the wait to get in as a new patient in a practice might be months long, or maybe they aren’t accepting new patients. There are a lot of people with all types of diabetes, and we have a supply and demand problem…too many people with diabetes and not enough providers. Many providers do not have diabetes themselves, so while they may be very well versed clinically and may have attended all the “right” conferences and seminars for information, they likely don’t have first-hand knowledge of what it is like to live with this disease. This is a pretty typical scenario in the United States. It isn’t anybody’s fault, it’s just the system that is in place.
Integrated Diabetes Services:
At Integrated Diabetes Services, we have a different setup. Everyone who works here has a personal connection to diabetes. Three of our clinicians are CDEs who wear insulin pumps and use a CGM, and the fourth is a CDE who is the mother of a child with Type 1. We get it. We know how unrelenting this disease is, because it’s in our personal life too. We know tips and tricks to improve things, and also know that everybody’s diabetes experience is different.
Everyone who works at IDS has a personal connection to diabetes. 3 of our clinicians are CDEs who wear insulin pumps and use a CGM, and the 4th is a CDE who is the mother of a child with Type 1.
While all our clinicians are CDEs, we come from different disciplines: exercise physiology, nutrition and dietetics, nursing, and social work/counseling. Therefore, each of us brings a unique perspective to our interactions with clients.
Another advantage we offer is that you can work with us on retainer type program. Retainers provide the ability to have unlimited contact with clinicians between appointments. This means that you can email with questions and send data in between appointments on a daily basis if needed. When you reach out to us, typically you will hear back within one business day. We actually want to hear from our clients between appointments so we can make sure you are on the right track! This allows us to do a lot of fine tuning to your insulin/nutrition or exercise plan so you can apply it right away. It also leaves time for the visits to allow us to discuss matters that need more in-depth discussion. Our visits are about 45 minutes on a monthly basis which is a lot more than you typically get when you go to an Endocrinologist.
One more perk–we work with clients all over the country and around the world. If you are local to our Wynnewood, PA office, you might want to come in to have your appointment in person. Otherwise, we are happy to work with you by phone or by Skype/Facetime or Google Hangouts.
We have a unique practice model at Integrated Diabetes Services, and it’s very patient-friendly. Please give us a call! Our office manager Nancy or our receptionist Karen would be happy to speak with you more about how we work and assist you with setting up an appointment!
Let us help you learn to “Think Like a Pancreas”
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