New Joslin Diabetes Program

To contact us Click HERE

This information on the Joslin websitedoes beg some questions. Are they really enthused about the “JoslinEverywhere” program? Or will this become an untenable drain on thefunds and be kicked to the curb and abandoned like so many otherprojects? This article on the Joslin website sounds great and I wishthem success. I will be watching and hopefully there will be sometransparency. The introduction to the article sounds impressive,“Catherine Carver, M.S., A.N.P., C.D.E.,Vice President for Advocacy and Planning is one of the key moversbehind Joslin’s bid to bring diabetes care into the 21st centurywith Joslin Everywhere, a digital care and education platform in theworks at Joslin Diabetes Center.”
The next paragraph sounds even moreimpressive. It says, “Imagine Joslin’sresources being available to everybody, anywhere, on their phone, ontheir computer or tablet, by live video chat. But not asboilerplate, instead, in a form tailored to the patient’sindividual needs. For example, suppose the patient is Mexican andwants to know about nutrition and diabetes- Joslin Everywhere wouldpresent him with food choices in Spanish that are common to theMexican food mores. Expanding beyond face-to-face office visits isthe only way we can remain relevant in the face of the tsunami of newdiabetes cases coming our way. The only way we can hope to stem thisepidemic is to reach people through other mediums.” Since this is still “in the works,” words to watch are“boilerplate” and “patient's individual needs.”
The example really says nothing otherthan they will use the person's language and nothing about notboilerplating for the average Mexican. The food choices maystill be heavy on carbohydrates and low fat. Also, there is nomention about having the patient use a blood glucose meter to see ifwhat they recommend causes blood glucose to spike. This begs anotherquestion of what will be the effects for people with diabetes. Willit mean more platitudes and then the one size fits all whole grains,low fat mantra. Will we see more emphasis on testing to help peoplemanage their prediabetes to prevent type 2 diabetes – this ishighly unlikely.
Or will Joslin make use of some of thenew information to test people early to prevent even prediabetes. “Researchers at Sweden's Lund Universityhave identified a "promising candidate" for a test thatwill indicate an early risk for type 2 diabetes, up to 10 yearsbefore diagnosing diabetes.” IfJoslin is sincere in reaching people through other mediums to stopthe diabetes epidemic, this should be on the table quickly forevaluation and if it works, all doctors throughout the world shouldmake use of it. However, I doubt Joslin will be this progressive.
Is this only for Joslin patients? Andthe next question - how is Joslin being reimbursed or paid? Initially this is all it can be as there are many hoops to jumpthrough to be reimbursed for time spent. In the state ofMassachusetts, there is a law in place effective November 5, 2012that states: “Alternative payments have the potential to provideincentives for efficiency in the delivery of services that are absentin the fee-for-service system, while potentially promotingimprovements in quality through better coordination of care.” In other words, private insurers are beginning to understand thereare benefits of touching patients in the best venue for the patient. This often means reduced costs for the insurer in the long-term.
As I learn more, I may have morequestions.