Education to improve diabetes outcomes

 
Structured educational courses to help people living with diabetes manage their condition are not working.
 
A few closed service providers dominate diabetes education in the UK, and according to the last National Diabetes Audit, less than 2% of the 3.8 million diagnosed with diabetes attend any form of structured education.
 
The non-dramatic, insidious and chronic nature of diabetes masks the fact that it has become a global epidemic with the potential to overwhelm national health systems, if education can't halt its progress. 
 
Although advances in diabetes research are significant, the horizon for a cure is still distant. At this moment in time, the best option to halt the progression of diabetes is convenient, fast and effective education.
 
 
Diabetes education and outcomes
Current providers of diabetes education fail to demonstrate how their offerings affect outcomes, and people are not interested in educational courses if they're not linked to outcomes. A 2012 London School of Economics study concludes that there's a lack of diabetes outcome data in the UK, and, "No one really knows the true impact of diabetes, and its associated complications."

The 2013 Annual Report of Diabetes UK (DUK) states that 50,000 people with diabetes used the Charity's blood glucose tracker app, 500,000 took its diabetes risk test, and DUK distributed 250,000 foot-guides, but the Report fails to mention what impact these important activities had on patient outcomes. 
 
Shift of power
Traditional providers of diabetes education have yet to appreciate that the information age has shifted the balance of power from health providers to patients.
 
Mobile devices are ubiquitous and personal. By 2018 smartphone penetration in the UK is expected to be 100%. The over 55s are projected to experience the fastest year-on-year smartphone penetration, and the difference of smartphone penetration by age is expected to disappear by 2020. Further, competition will continue to drive down prices of mobile devices, and increase their functionality. 
 
Over 70% of people living with diabetes regularly use their mobiles to search the Internet for healthcare information, and use social-media to share information about health providers, and educational courses.  This is carried out 24-7, 365 days a year.
 
Traditional providers of diabetes educational courses should be minded that 35% of all patients who use social-media say negative things about health providers, 40% of people who receive such negative information believe it, and 41% say it affects their choices. Social-media is the new frontier of reputation risk for providers of diabetes education.
 
Takeaways
Traditional providers of diabetes education must become more open to independent service providers, and enhance their digital strategies to make their education offerings smarter, faster, and better. 

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