Population Health: It’s What We Do! An Educator’s Perspective

Abstract

Population health provides an exciting opportunity for diabetes educators and our specialty practice of diabetes education. Population health offers a robust framework for diabetes educators, known for our advanced skills in Diabetes SelfManagement Education and Support (DSMES), to demonstrate our expertise and value in an expanded capacity beyond traditional roles. As health care is rapidly evolving with outcomebased payment models, providers and health systems are becoming more focused on and aware of those factors that positively and negatively drive patient outcomes. Organizations are looking at process and personnel opportunities to deliver care more effectively and efficiently. Diabetes educators are an excellent and underutilized resource for patients, the care team, and the organizations or health systems for whom we provide services. Population health could well provide the answer to increased recognition and impact for the specialty. For many diabetes educators, this begs the question of “Where do I fit into population health?” The answer is that diabetes educators fit into every aspect of the population health framework—it’s what we do!