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Recognizing Diabetes Educators
During National Diabetes Month, the week of November 5-11 provides an opportunity to recognize a special group of healthcare professionals, diabetes educators. This week, also known as National Diabetes Education Week, is meant to be a time to celebrate all that diabetes educators do to help those affected by diabetes.
At Monarch, we’ve had the opportunity to work with many diabetes educators. In fact, roughly, 25 to 30 percent of all diabetes educators work in the hospital setting. Diabetes mellitus is the second most common diagnosis for those discharged from hospitals among adults age 18 and older, and patients with diabetes are frequently hospitalized, for treatment of conditions other than diabetes.
Diabetes educators play an integral role in managing diabetes in the inpatient setting. They are tasked with delivering comprehensive staff and patient diabetes education, monitoring of outcome measurements, establishing evidence-based hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia management order sets and protocols, and developing a plan of care that facilitates a smooth transition across the care settings. They not only serve as a key member of the interdisciplinary team that help to manage a patient’s care throughout the continuum, but they also can impact change for the overall glycemic management processes and programs.
Monarch Featured in DiabetesMine blog, “Convincing Hospitals That Glucose Management Matters”
In a new DiabetesMine blog post, “Convincing Hospitals That Glucose Management Matters,” author Dan Fleshler questions why some hospitals are still using “old-fashioned, time-consuming, error-prone approach to regulating blood glucose.” The blog, which features Monarch Medical Technologies, addresses one of the biggest challenges in the industry, convincing hospital administration and providers that glucose management needs to become a priority.
The blog, which begins, “patients’ blood glucose (BG) levels in many American hospitals run dangerously high, but hospitals aren’t doing nearly enough to address the problem,” highlights the dangers of unsafe blood glucose management and lack of adoption of new technology and protocols to advance diabetes care. According to the article, between 70% and 80% of patients with diabetes experience hyperglycemia when hospitalized for critical illnesses or have cardiac surgery, and roughly 30% of all patients receiving care in hospitals experience high blood sugars (>180 mg/dL). Yet, only about 10% of American hospitals are using e-glycemic management solutions to determine patient’s insulin doses. As the author notes, “hospital diabetes management has the potential for a seismic shift — if they choose to adopt these newer innovations.”
Highlights from the EndoTool User Group Meeting: Transforming Inpatient Glucose Control is Mission-Critical for Hospitals and Patients
On October 19th, Monarch Medical Technologies hosted its first annual EndoTool® User Group Meeting in Charlotte, NC. Joined by clients across the country, the group explored ways to better utilize EndoTool IV and SubQ across their systems. While many left with pages of notes on how to improve their processes and education at their organizations, one overarching theme can summarize what was evident at the event—glucose management must be a priority at hospitals and it requires a champion at each organization to lead the way.
A Motto for Diabetes Care: Never Satisfied. Always Evolving.
When joining a new team, the first question is always why. Why is the opportunity attractive and why join? As a new member of the Monarch team, my why can be summed up simply by one sign.
Last week, I spent my first few days with Monarch at the headquarters in Charlotte, NC. Upon entering the office, I was particularly struck by the sign that was in the lobby. The sign reflects the core values of the organization arranged in the shape of the colorful Monarch butterfly. While the company values of trust, accountability, creativity, innovation and transparency highly resonate with me, it was the title of the sign, “Never Satisfied. Always Evolving,” that I found to be the most compelling.
“Never satisfied, always evolving” is also the perfect tenet for healthcare, and particularly for the area I am most passionate about – diabetes care. We must never be satisfied with the status quo and must always be evolving to achieve safer care, better therapies, better treatments, and in the case of diabetes, less hypoglycemia, more ideal blood glucose control, and ultimately a cure.
Monarch Medical Technologies Announces Laurel Fuqua as Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer
Monarch Medical Technologies, the leader in electronic glycemic management systems (eGMS) for in-hospital patients, today announced that Laurel Fuqua, RN, MSN is joining the Monarch leadership team, as Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer. In this role, Fuqua will lead the overall clinical vision at Monarch Medical Technologies, providing input into product strategy and working closely with customers looking to improve patient safety and outcomes through the adoption and optimization of the EndoTool® platform.
Fuqua joins Monarch with more than 30 years of experience in healthcare management and product development. She has held executive-level positions across a wide range of healthcare settings including, hospitals, health plans, care management, and diabetes technology firms.
A Note to Nurses: Less Math and Paper = Better Care for Patients
All nurses deal with the prominent disease known as diabetes. It is a disease that effects all of us in one way or another. Either by family, friends, or co-workers, it has touched us all. As a hospital nurse for more than 20 years, I had not imagined that we could possibly manage our diabetic patients any way other than through tedious order sets and sliding scales with insulin bags, double-checks, and frustrations of locating another nurse to verify, etc. In the High-Risk L&D/Antepartum unit I worked in, diabetic patients were closely monitored by our Maternal/Fetal Medicine Specialists (MFM) and were very much at risk for maternal and/or fetal compromise. I knew the severity of the condition, but never imagined that we could eventually treat these patients with anything but the close watch of the ordering physician. With multiple phone calls and high intensity workload of one patient (actually two), this would mean a challenging day at work to keep these patients safe and well cared for.
Numerous Scenarios – One Software
The expression, “you can’t have your cake and eat it too,” is all too familiar to most, particularly in healthcare. When referencing a glucose management tool, rumor has it that a software should be used regularly, or, for treating “difficult” scenarios, but not always both. This thought process needs to be stopped.
A software such as EndoTool Glucose Management System is not only personalized for a stable patient, but also specializes in the most “difficult” scenarios.
When a stable patient is treated with EndoTool, the software recommends insulin based on unique response to insulin and patient parameters such as: blood glucose level, Diabetes Mellitus (DM) type, age, sex, weight, sCr, eGFR, steroids, and any estimated residual extracellular insulin (EREI). In addition to this, more than 60 combined algorithms ensure that dosing is individualized and responsive to ongoing changes in each patient’s unique physiological response.
What about a more complicated scenario such as Diabetic ketoacidosis (when the body cannot produce enough insulin and begins to burn fat for energy while producing a buildup of acids in the bloodstream)? Treatment takes place in the hospital and typically involves fluid replacement, electrolyte replacement, and insulin therapy. The software to treat DKA is the same software to dose a stable patient. The response to insulin therapy, unique parameters, and combined algorithms are still there, working hard to recommend your next dose.
In fact, even in the most difficult patient scenarios, such as DKA and HNS, EndoTool provides a safe and efficient solution for glucose management with 99.4% of all patients achieving control.
The next time someone says, “you can’t have your cake and eat it too,” introduce them to EndoTool, because you can. Every hospital can have the best of both worlds by using one glucose management tool for countless circumstances.
Does your CGM incorporate EREI?
Even though the protocol for dosing insulin can be carefully calculated for the particular patient in need, what if that patient’s need for insulin changes quickly after the initial dose recommendation? This concept is not only unheard of, it is very common. Based on a wide range of factors, such as a patient’s activity level, meals consumed, and stress, a patient’s insulin may change. In this case, the dosing of insulin needs to reflect that change. read more…
Glycemic Targets Pt. 2 – A1C
In last week’s blog, we explained the importance of patient self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for patients with diabetes. This week, we want to go over the A1C test, goals and recommendations, and the limitations of A1C testing. read more…
Glycemic Targets Pt. 1 – SMBG & CGM
One of the most critical responsibilities of patients with diabetes is patient self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). In order to assess glycemic levels, SMBG is available to caregivers and patients to evaluate the safety of the suggested glycemic management plan. It is not only important to check blood glucose levels, but continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is essential to create a treatment plan for type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Per the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes, recommendations are as follows: read more…