New Online Resource Will Correct Misinformation on Type 2 Diabetes: Coming in June

[Guest guest]

It will be interesting to see who and what they include

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A new online resource for information about type 2 diabetes mellitus — aimed

at helping patients with diabetes, their caregivers, and their physicians

sift through the clutter of information on the Web for reliable up-to-date

information and research — will be available in June, according to experts

speaking here at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists

(AACE) 20th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress.

" Ninety percent of people get their health information via the Internet and,

on a good day, 20% is reliable, " said Grunberger, MD, founder and

chair of the Grunberger Diabetes Institute, and clinical professor of

internal medicine and of molecular medicine and genetics at Wayne State

University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Grunberger is a

member of the national board of directors of the AACE, which will be

cosponsoring the new online resource with Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

The idea of the new Web site is not to provide new patient information about

diabetes, but to direct patients to educational resources on the Web that

provide credible information about the disease. " Inaccurate or incomplete

information can lead to unnecessary stress or confusion for people living

with type 2 diabetes. We need to make it easier for healthcare

professionals, patients, and caregivers to access reliable sources of

information, which can form a foundation for treatment and care decisions, "

Dr. Grunberger said.

The new online site will direct patients, caregivers, and health

professionals to top-notch sources of information on the Web, vetted by AACE

diabetes experts, Dr. Grunberger said. In essence, each Web site will be

evaluated for the quality and accuracy of the information it provides to

patients and health professionals. As well as providing links to patient

education Web sites, the new online resource will direct health

professionals to sources of new research and clinical information.

" Think of all the health professionals who take care of diabetes patients, "

Dr. Grunberger said. " For those who may not be diabetes experts, this Web

site will be an invaluable resource. "

Unfortunately, because many patients get inaccurate or incomplete

information online, addressing patient misconceptions acquired by surfing

the Internet can take up valuable health clinician time, Dr. Grunberger

noted. But showing a patient how to get accurate and complete information

will help inform patients and will streamline visits to healthcare

professionals, he said.

" The problem with the Internet is that there's no traffic control, " Dr.

Grunberger said. The new Web site will direct patients to information that

is not only reliable, but also easy to understand, he emphasized.

Informational Web sites for health professionals featured on the new online

resource will be evaluated on the basis of clinical relevance and accuracy,

he said.

To train the thousands of physicians who provide healthcare to people with

type 2 diabetes so that they become experts in managing the disease would

take an enormous effort, Dr. Grunberger added. But the new online resource

will go a long way toward helping heath professionals learn about the most

current guidelines for type 2 diabetes treatment and the best methods for

establishing individualized care plans for their diabetic patients, he said.

According to Dr. Grunberger, " 90% to 95% of diabetics never see a

specialist. " Providing an informational resource for people with type 2

diabetes and their physicians will not be easy, but the AACE hopes that it

will correct patient misinformation and enhance communication between health

professionals and their patients. As a result, health clinicians might find

that the process of developing appropriate treatment plans for their

diabetic patients goes more smoothly.

" It's going to be a big chunk of work, but worthwhile, " Dr. Grunberger said.

For more information on the new online compendium of reliable information on

type 2 diabetes, watch for updates on www.aace.com

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

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