This presentation will showcase what technology can do for the diabetes health care provider, from social media in a few seconds to the development of a new website in minutes. This fast paced, dynamic and highly informative session will tantalise your senses and leave you with a clear vision of where you should start and what you can use to do what you already do, better.
There is no doubt that technology and innovation continues to have a large impact on diabetes care and offers us solutions that are transformative in the way self management has previously occurred. With the growing adoption of e-Health solutions there is a real potential for accelerated change in diabetes healthcare and opportunities to overcome barriers of the past.
For patients, e-health and social media can translate to fewer clinic and emergency visits, reduced episodes and duration of hospitalizations, decreased patient travel time and expense and increased service access particularly for the aged, disabled and those living in rural areas.
For health care providers, using technology can lead to more informed decision making, enhanced patient compliance, greater efficiency and expanded outreach services and even flexible work arrangements. However, using technology poses challenges on the traditional models of service delivery and demands that our profession needs to embrace to meet the varying needs and interactions with of our patient base.
To not only survive, but to thrive in our service delivery, we need to be aware of what is being used, but also understand and integrate progressive technologies into our work and do this in a way that directly draws on patient perspectives and needs.