The Science of Diabetes Self-Management and Care2023, Vol. 49(4) 319 –321© The Author(s) 2023Article reuse guidelines:sagepub.com/journals-permissionsDOI: 10.1177/26350106231169694journals.sagepub.com/home/tde
On December 6, 1973, 18 clinicians from across the country met in Chicago to explore the quality of patient education and the professional needs of the diabetes educator. This workshop was the result of a survey sent by the Ames Company, a division of Miles Laboratories, Inc, to over 1800 hospitals in the United States exploring the delivery of patient education. Ames was especially interested in patient education because they had introduced the first blood glucose meter, the Ames Reflectance meter, in 1970. At this industry-sponsored meeting, attendees decided to establish the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) as a multidisciplinary organization of health care professionals. The meeting attendees formed a steering committee, and Ames provided seed money for the first year of operation.
The founding goals of AADE were clearly defined by the steering committee in 1974,1 and the 20222 current goals are still in alignment with these (with some updated patient and professional language):
AADE was introduced to health care professionals through a membership mail campaign and the distribution of applications by the Ames sales force. A timeline of the history of AADE in celebration of the 30th anniversary was published across 6 issues of The Diabetes Educator journal in 2003.1,3-7 Throughout the timeline, industry’s continued involvement with the Association in advancing the role of the diabetes educator is evidenced through annual meeting support, enhanced patient education materials and programs, training programs on medications and devices, and the support of special projects.
In 1997, AADE responded to the federal initiative of the Balanced Budget Act under President Clinton, which charged Medicare and Medicaid to expand diabetes services. In response to this significant policy change, AADE created the Outcomes Task Force, which was tasked with defining the outcomes of Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) to demonstrate the impact of the DSME programs. This task force evolved into the Outcomes Project and the National Diabetes Education Outcomes System (NDEOS), and AADE continued with this project for 10 years with generous support from multiple industry allies. This industry-association collaboration advanced the science and practice of diabetes education and care through the introduction of the DSME outcomes continuum, the AADE7™ self-management behavior framework, and the AADE7 Outcomes software platform that included comprehensive tools for patient assessment, diabetes educator documentation, and DSME site reporting.
This multiyear project involved many educators in the development and implementation at multiple sites around the country,8 as is detailed in the accompanying article. [Click this link to access article: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0145721707307615] With the change in the name and mission of AADE to the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists, the “outcomes” of this project were incorporated and can still be recognized in the ADCES7 Self-Care Behaviors™ and the behavioral outcomes reporting of the DSMES programs. Without industry support, this project would not have had the significant scope of development, widespread adoption, and impact.
In spring 2006, the inaugural meeting of the ADCES Industry Allies Council (IAC) took place in Los Angeles, California. The IAC formalized an ongoing relationship that first started in 1975 at the 2nd Annual AADE Meeting held in Philadelphia, where AADE conducted its first industry meeting to exchange information on diabetes activities.
The 2006 inaugural members of the IAC were Abbott Diabetes Care, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, Bayer HealthCare, BD Consumer Healthcare, Eli Lilly and Company, Lifescan, Inc, Merck and Co, Inc, Novartis Corporation, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Inc, Roche Diagnostics, and Sanofi Aventis. The founding and current goals of the IAC are to:
Today, the 15 members of the IAC continue to be a vital influence for the Association and its members as they share the knowledge of digital health, medical devices, nutrition, and pharmacology for diabetes and cardiometabolic conditions.
Also, in 2006 The Diabetes Educator (TDE) announced the addition of journal supplements as an additional activity of the TDE’s Editorial Advisory Board. The journal supplement is a complication of articles related to a specific issue or topic, are published separate from the journal, and are usually funded by sources other than the journal’s publisher. Supplements allow for the dissemination of focused content, the timely providing of translation of research findings, and encourage cooperation between academia and industry.
In 2015, with the explosion of mobile technology, the Board of Directors hosted digital health experts to lead a workshop for the technology portion of the 2015 strategic plan. As a result of those efforts, the 2016 technology committee, composed of technology industry leaders and practice-based clinicians, was formed. This committee led several initiatives for ADCES, including the development and launching of Danatech in 2018, the technology summit in 2019, and subsequent publications on the implementation of technology-enabled Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES). The Identify-Configure-Collaborate model for technology implementation is another example of industry-association collaboration to integrate lessons learned from practice to Association-led best practices guidelines, as detailed in “A Framework for Optimizing Technology-Enabled Diabetes and Cardio-Metabolic Care and Education: The Role of the Diabetes Care and Education Specialist.”9
This summary of 50 years of the impact of association-industry collaboration demonstrates that ADCES, the Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, and industry allies have been able to effect more change in diabetes health and the health care system working synergistically than we could have achieved as individual groups.
Malinda Peeples is ADCES Past President (2005-2006) and led the ADCES Outcomes Initiative from 1997-2005. In 2016, she led the ADCES Technology Committee and continues to be a leader in integrating digital health and cardiometabolic care into clinical practice. Currently she is Executive Digital Health & Informatics Advisor for Welldoc, a digital health company, where she led the clinical services and science journey from 2008-2022. She also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor in Medicine at Johns Hopkins University in health informatics and has published on outcomes and the role of the diabetes care and education specialist in technology implementation. In 2018 she received the ADCES Alene Von Son Distinguished Service Award and is a Fellow of ADCES.
None reported.
Malinda Peeples https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4097-1584
From Welldoc: Executive Digital Health & Informatics Advisor, Columbia, Maryland (Ms Peeples).
Corresponding Author:Malinda Peeples, Welldoc: Executive Digital Health & Informatics Advisor, 10221 Wincopin Circle, Suite 150, Columbia, MD 21044, USA.Email: mpeeples@welldoc.com
