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2022 CMS Changes for eCQM The 2022 final rule from CMS brings the adoption of two electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) for the management of inpatient diabetes in the hospital setting. This rule will standardize when and how hospitals report inpatient hyperglycemia and inpatient hypoglycemia and will directly impact how hospitals publicly rank according to these quality standards. Specifically, hospitals...

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, countless healthcare professionals have stepped up and made a huge impact. We wanted to acknowledge those who have gone above and beyond to help in this time of need. Their contributions during this pandemic have been nothing short of admirable and they deserve all the recognition. In this new series, we will be featuring a new...

COVID-19 is a serious threat to anyone with chronic health issues like diabetes. We all know by now that COVID-19 (coronavirus) is a serious public health threat. We also know that older individuals and any individuals with serious chronic health issues like diabetes are at higher risk for complications, should they contract the virus. According to WHO, in China people...

The end of October marked the third annual EndoTool User Group Meeting for Monarch. As EndoTool users from near and far convened in Charlotte, NC, the discussion centered on how users can further optimize EndoTool to see improvement in outcomes. While the application has demonstrated success by statistically eliminating hypoglycemia, attendees and speakers all agreed, the outcomes can be amplified...

Diabetes care and education specialists across the country convened in Houston, TX last week for the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) annual meeting. Notice, we avoided using the designation of diabetes educators. During the meeting, AADE announced the new name for its members, “diabetes care and education specialists,” or DCES for short. As Karen Kemmis, PT, DPT, RN, MS,...

One of the first questions we receive regarding EndoTool is, “Can it be fully integrated with our electronic medical record (EMR)?” Although the general answer is yes, it may depend on your definition of “integration.” In today’s market, the goal is for all information technology systems and software applications to be interoperable, meaning they communicate, exchange data and use the...

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions took place early this month and the team at Monarch was once again in attendance. With five days of comprehensive education and presentations, this year’s session was packed with updates, insights, and new announcements in diabetes care. While a swing through the exhibit hall shows the latest in the rapidly advancing diabetes technology,...

The role of the nurse in caring for patients with diabetes has evolved over our history. As understanding of the impact of diabetes in the inpatient setting gained momentum, nurses have moved from managing comorbidities, such as diabetes, as a secondary priority to caring for diabetes alongside and equal to the patients’ primary diagnoses. Leading and executing evidence-based nursing, which...

There’s a common saying, “teamwork makes the dream work.” Healthcare is truly a team sport. With increasing comorbidities and specialization of care, it takes a team of healthcare professionals to deliver patient-centered care. Working as an effective team in both the inpatient and outpatient setting not only has immediate implications for the safety and quality of care delivered, but it...

I will never forget rounding in a busy ICU just before lunchtime, standing within earshot of a patient with type 2 diabetes ordering her lunch: a cheeseburger, fully loaded, with a side of french fries and chocolate ice cream for dessert. I cracked a smile as my stomach growled and my mouth watered; it sounded delicious. The patient’s tray arrived...

The first week of February marks National Burn Awareness Week. Likely all have experienced a burn at some point as it’s the leading cause of accidental injury, but far fewer have ever experienced a severe burn requiring acute care. In the United States, the CDC estimates 50,000 burn injuries require a hospital stay each year and 20,000 have burns involving...

In late December, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) released the 2019 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes. The standards, which were first introduced in 1989, have been updated every year to reflect the current state of diabetes practice. While multiple changes have been made to clarify recommendations and align with new evidence in the 2019 edition, here’s a high-level overview...

DiaTribe Editor, Adam Brown, wrote in a recent article, “We’ve known for a long time that diabetes care in hospitals is often bad, but until you experience it personally – and you have to go to the ER and have an emergency surgery and stay there for five days – you don’t truly understand how unprepared hospitals are.” For hospitals,...

Thanksgiving is a time for celebration with family and food, but celebrating the holiday from a hospital bed is never quite as enjoyable. For those with diabetes and hyperglycemia, the holiday can either be riddled with rules to ruin the day or a free-for-all that leads to extremely high blood glucose levels. As healthcare providers, we want this time to...

November is National Diabetes Month. This year, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health, is celebrating the month by promoting health after gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy. Up to one in every 10 pregnancies in the United States is affected by...