Yesterday I had the honor of meeting with Dr. David Harlan of UMASS. I was given a tour of the UMASS Diabetes Center by Dr. Harlan and I was blown away. I have a fear of hospitals that has gotten better recently but a hospital still scares me. When I see a hospital all I can think of was when I was in the hospital for two weeks in February of 08, we all know what happened then. When I got to the UMASS Diabetes Center those worries went away, the center has windows everywhere so the center is bright and uplifting. On the walls are framed photos of famous people that have diabetes. Below each photo is a page about the persons professional life as well as their diabetes life. In the waiting room is a television with a video running, it is not your everyday boring diabetes video that describes what diabetes is and the risks and stuff like that. It is a video of patients telling you their story, what they do and how they live with the disease.
As Dr. Harlan and I headed back to the offices I saw framed photos of people that I didn't know. I learned that these people are patients and have their own little write ups just like the famous people out in the waiting room. As diabetics it doesn't matter if your a rock star or a middle school student, the disease doesn't change. While in the office I was shown the My Care Team software. It is amazing, patients can upload information from their blood glucose monitor and the My Care Team software stores all of it. It gives you all of your information in graphs, alerts you when you have been low or high at the same times, records a patients A1C. Once the data is stored, physicians, care providers, and family members can use the tool to monitor glucose levels, understand lab values, and examine the effects that exercise and diet have on a patient’s health. It is amazing technology and I encourage everyone to check out the Quick Tour of the technology.
I was honored to be a guest of Dr. Harlans and I love the dedication that he and his staff have for making life for people living with diabetes a little easier. The doctor patient relationship is one of the major components in diabetes management. As patients we need to remember that the doctors are people and don't have super powers. They have the same everyday concerns as everyone else and once we learn that and accept a doctor as a normal person it opens the door for a very strong relationship. With a strong relationship you are more likely to ask the tough questions and not be embarrassed. As patients it is our job to trust and respect our doctor. With a strong relationship I can guarantee better blood glucose readings and a lower A1C.
As Dr. Harlan and I headed back to the offices I saw framed photos of people that I didn't know. I learned that these people are patients and have their own little write ups just like the famous people out in the waiting room. As diabetics it doesn't matter if your a rock star or a middle school student, the disease doesn't change. While in the office I was shown the My Care Team software. It is amazing, patients can upload information from their blood glucose monitor and the My Care Team software stores all of it. It gives you all of your information in graphs, alerts you when you have been low or high at the same times, records a patients A1C. Once the data is stored, physicians, care providers, and family members can use the tool to monitor glucose levels, understand lab values, and examine the effects that exercise and diet have on a patient’s health. It is amazing technology and I encourage everyone to check out the Quick Tour of the technology.
I was honored to be a guest of Dr. Harlans and I love the dedication that he and his staff have for making life for people living with diabetes a little easier. The doctor patient relationship is one of the major components in diabetes management. As patients we need to remember that the doctors are people and don't have super powers. They have the same everyday concerns as everyone else and once we learn that and accept a doctor as a normal person it opens the door for a very strong relationship. With a strong relationship you are more likely to ask the tough questions and not be embarrassed. As patients it is our job to trust and respect our doctor. With a strong relationship I can guarantee better blood glucose readings and a lower A1C.
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