In October 2018, Diabetes Canada held its annual professional conference in Halifax, NS.  Diabetes Action Canada supported two Patient Partners, Doug Mumford and Robert Fenton, as Scientific Ambassadors, to attend the Diabetes Canada Conference and participate in sessions of interest.  We are pleased to now have a full report on their experiences at the conference.  Please see below for both an English and French version of this report.

In summary the Scientific Ambassadors took away from the conference:

1. Treat the mind as well as the body. Necessity of treating the mind as well as the body.  And of measuring the mind – especially the willingness for the patient to change their behavior in favor of self-management.
2. Assess the patients’ willingness to change their behavior before offering a treatment plan.
3. Follow up with each patient – clinicians and educators need to monitor compliance and results.
4. Data is an absolute key to success in diabetes management at the personal as well as the population level.
5. True patient-centered care is vital. Lots of talk about Shared Decision Making (SDM) with the patient, and about the necessity to follow up after initial visits.  This especially applied to people living with Type 2 who tend to be seen only a few times by an education centre and endocrinologist, then the family doctor is expected to continue from there.  It doesn’t work that well.
6. A1c is on the way to being replaced by two numbers:  Time in Target, and Time in Hypo.  Like ≥75% and ≤3%.
7. New developments in glucose monitoring and insulin delivery systems are making diabetes management easier and more effective.
8. Obesity is not curable, and current best treatment practices are not scalable (bariatric surgery and cognitive behavior modification).
9. Prevention and early treatment of complications is crucial.
10. Clinical Practice Guidelines 2018 have been updated to an “app” as well as a website, and are an outstanding tool for clinicians, educators, and patients.
11. Inspiration: There are no limits to what people with diabetes can be, do, or accomplish!