ADCES’ Diabetes Technology Conference is coming up December 1-2 in Chicago! We’re joined by conference co-chair Gary Scheiner, MS, CDCES as he shares all the exciting things to look forward to at this year’s event—including hands-on device trainings and educational tracks for different experience levels. Resources: Register for the 2023 Diabetes Tech Conference here: https://diabetestechconference.org/ Learn more about diabetes technology overall on danatech: Diabetes technology for healthcare professionals | Danatech (diabeteseducator.org)
ADCES’ Diabetes Technology Conference is coming up December 1-2 in Chicago! We’re joined by conference co-chair Gary Scheiner, MS, CDCES as he shares all the exciting things to look forward to at this year’s event—including hands-on device trainings and educational tracks for different experience levels.
Resources:
Register for the 2023 Diabetes Tech Conference here: https://diabetestechconference.org/
Learn more about diabetes technology overall on danatech: Diabetes technology for healthcare professionals | Danatech (diabeteseducator.org)
Dana Moreau
Hello and welcome to ADCES's podcast, The Huddle: Conversations with the diabetes care team. In each episode, we speak with guests from across the diabetes care space to bring you perspectives, issues, and updates that elevate your role and inform your practice. My name is Dana Moreau, and I oversee Danatech and Digital Products here at the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists. Before we begin today, it's super important to note the information in this podcast is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable for your individual circumstances. This podcast does not provide medical or professional advice and is not a substitute for consultation with a healthcare professional. Please consult your healthcare professional for any medical questions.
Today we're joined by ADCES member Gary Scheiner. Gary is the owner and clinical director of Integrated Diabetes Services, an international practice based just outside of Philadelphia specializing in intensive insulin therapy and advanced education for children and adults. He has been a certified diabetes care and education specialist for 25 years and has had type 1 diabetes for 35 years. So he knows what he's talking about. ADCES is lucky to have Gary as the co-chair of this year's Diabetes Technology Conference. He's joining us today to talk about all of the exciting things happening at this year's Diabetes Technology Conference, which takes place in December, the 1st and the 2nd, in Chicago. Gary, welcome to The Huddle.
Gary Scheiner
Thanks Dana.
Dana Moreau
I know I gave a little bit of your background, but is there any more information you want to tell the audience about yourselves and again the Diabetes Tech Conference in general and why you're a part of it?
Gary Scheiner
Well I guess for both professional and personal reasons, I love to try out all of the new devices that launch in the diabetes space. Some of them are approved for type 1 patients, some are not. So I do some off-label stuff on myself, but it gives me a good perspective and honest perspective on who's going to be best served by some of these things. I think last count, I've used something like 36 different insulin pumps.
Dana Moreau
Can you, Gary, tell us a little bit about the Diabetes Technology Conference? I think this is your third year in attendance and sort of why it was created. And really, what purpose does this serve for healthcare providers?
Gary Scheiner
Well, it's my second year as co-chair of this meeting, and I feel that this is one of the most important services that ADCES is able to provide for its members, is access to information and some training on the technology aspects of diabetes care. You know, both in terms of providing care and education for our clients, we really need to be up to speed on technologies.
And I heard it phrased years ago by somebody who said, when they bring their car in for repairs, the mechanic is certified on pretty much everything under the hood. And when you go to your healthcare provider for treatment of a disease state, typically they don't know a lot about the technologies. And in diabetes in particular, there's so many technologies we use. It's really important that we understand these technologies and how to use them effectively, and how to train patients on how to use them safely. What I'm most excited about is not the meeting itself, it's Chicago. Chicago is an amazing city. The Miracle Mile, Michigan Avenue shopping is spectacular. I mean, just the best, they've got upscale, they got downscale stores. It's an amazing shopping experience. Gino's Deep Dish Pizza is incredible. So if you get a chance to get out of the hotel for a while and head to, to Ginos, I would recommend it. Plus my favorite popcorn in the world is at O'Hare Airport at Put Nuts on Clark, tremendous popcorn. So I got lots of things to be excited about for this meeting.
Dana Moreau
And I think the other thing too, just because ADCES is located in Chicago, this is something we should mention, is that Chicago is decorated spectacularly for the holiday. So that's one more reason and we really appreciate the plug for Chicago. We who live here love it. So. But what about in terms of then the conference itself? You know we are, at ADCES, focused specifically or typically on the diabetes care and education specialists, but I know we've all talked about this for a while. There really is a need for everyone to have a basic to intermediate understanding of diabetes technologies that their patients are wearing or requesting. So who do you think really will get the biggest benefit out of this type of conference?
Gary Scheiner
It's a great question. As diabetes care and education specialists, this is our field. This is our wheelhouse. And it's what separates us from all the other health care providers. We're the ones who people come to when they really want to get good information, good training, good consultation.
So anybody who is working with people with diabetes would benefit from this, particularly nurses, dietitians, social workers, exercise specialists. If you work with patients with diabetes, there's a lot to be learned.
One of the things we're doing at this year's conference for the first time is we're having two separate tracks. I know in the last couple of years, the meeting's always been sold out, it's very popular. But something that people commented about, some of them felt that the material was too basic for them. They wanted things that were more challenging, where they could really expand their skillset. But we had just as many people who said it was too complicated for them, that the material was too advanced. So this year, we're running two tracks simultaneously.
One track is going to cover things on a more basic side, and the other is going to cover much more advanced types of concepts. So now it doesn't really matter if you have no experience at all, you can come to this conference and feel very comfortable with the material. It'll be presented at a pace, and the information itself is going to lend itself to people who don't have a lot of background with technologies. But for those who are already kind of involved using technologies, now there's stuff that's gonna even challenge them and introduce them to some new and exciting things they may not have even thought of before. So I think it's gonna meet the needs of the attendees extremely well. There will be some sessions that will apply to everybody, but all of the breakout type sessions are gonna be broken down into a basic level and an advanced level. And everybody can kind of determine for themselves what's gonna be most appropriate. So no matter who you are, if you work with patients with diabetes, you're sure to get a lot out of this meeting.
Dana Moreau
I know in the years past, some of the most popular sessions were the hands-on device training sessions. Can you talk a little bit about how those are usually structured and what people can expect to get out of them?
Gary Scheiner
That's another, I guess, unique thing about this particular conference is the attendees have an opportunity if they want it to actually try out some of the devices, particularly the different CGM type devices. With the pumps, there's not as much hands on, it's hard to get insulin pumps for 200 people. But there's still opportunities for more hands-on demonstrations and learning about the different pumps, the infusion devices, the connected pens, the software, the apps. So whether you're actually wearing and using the device is almost irrelevant.
Dana Moreau
Something else too that I think you get out of this. I mean, there's a lot of information available on diabetes technology. What are the benefits of really being here on site, in person, to get this type of training?
Gary Scheiner
Well, for one thing, the networking opportunity, you know, to be with other clinicians, like-minded clinicians who are really immersed in the technology. Seeing what they're doing, learning about how their experiences with it. There's going to be a lot of focus this year on not just collecting data, but what to do with it. And we always emphasize getting the information, but now we're really going to take a deeper dive into the various reports and other data that can be generated from the systems and how to analyze them, what kind of information to extract and how to apply it to the patient's care as well as meeting their educational needs.
We're doing a side-by-side session called “Speed Data-ing”. I love the name of that. We're gonna have one session that's more basic oriented and one session more advanced, but we're gonna be looking at actual patient data reports using a variety of systems. One thing about this conference is we're not just locked in the one particular type of device. We're gonna be looking at information from all the different pumps and meters and sensors and pens and apps and a variety of software applications. So you'll get a chance to get some hands-on experience with each of those. And beyond that, we're gonna be looking at not just the data aspect, but also the cognitive, emotional aspect of not just the patient's interaction with technology, but us as clinicians, how it affects us and how we can handle it without becoming overwhelmed and be able to interact more effectively with patients from that standpoint.
Dana Moreau
I love that topic. So I'm looking forward to being involved or sitting in on that session. What are some of the other sessions that are going on that I mean, you're most excited about this year that again, may have been different from last year? Aside from the data and the behavioral health, which are both great topics.
Gary Scheiner
Things are changing pretty quickly in the diabetes landscape. Automated insulin delivery is becoming all the rage for anybody who's using insulin in general. We have newer systems on the market now. We're going to be exploring a variety of different automated insulin delivery options and, you know, get into some details about how they function, how they operate. What variables are there for us to be able to negotiate with and adjust on the patient's behalf. So we'll be covering basic adjustment options as well as more advanced ones in the various sessions.
We'll also be exploring some of the non-FDA approved stuff. Obviously we'll describe it as off label, but we will be looking at the non-FDA approved systems, which have become immensely popular, especially in the type 1 space. We have some real top experts who are gonna be getting into some details about those and explain some of the nuances of those and who might benefit, who should probably steer away from those and how to utilize them effectively.
Dana Moreau
Terrific. Gary is there anything else you think people should know about this conference?
Gary Scheiner
We'll be looking at matching patients to devices. That's something that's often overlooked. And from our standpoint, it's easy to just throw a bunch of brochures at somebody and say, “here, you pick”. But it really helps to have, be able to provide them with some meaningful insight about the various devices and systems so that we can guide patients. You know, we're not gonna make the decision for them, but at least we can point out certain things and help them make a more educated choice about the types of systems that they're going to use. I remember decades ago when I went on my first pump, there weren't a lot of choices, and I was just told “here, this is the one you're going to use”. That's really changed now. The idea now is that the user is the one that should make the choice, and they should base it on worthwhile, up-to-date information and impartial information. I think everybody who attends the conference will be given tools to help patients accomplish that. We'll be providing detailed comparisons of different systems so that you can guide patients appropriately and point out the unique aspects of various devices and be able to let the patient know about those.
Apps are another area besides devices themselves. There's so many applications out there now. We're going to be spending a fair amount of time looking at those and being able to discern between what's a worthwhile app, what's safe, what's been vetted properly. And we'll offer some insight about ones that a lot of clinicians find really helpful. I think everyone will come away with a short list of apps they may want to start utilizing on a more regular basis. They don't just help the patient manage better, but as clinicians, they save us time too.
I'll tell you, we're going to wrap up the session on day two with a little competition between the newbies and the veterans. You know, we're going to probably look at people age 50 and older and people age under 50 in a battle of wits and see who learned more during the conference. So whether you're age 50 or up or below age 50, you want to, you want to come out and join your side and we'll see who knows more.
Dana Moreau
Gonna have to bet money on one of those sides. I'd be very curious to see who wins in the end.
Gary Scheiner
Well, you'd think technology, the younger folks would snap it up. But this such a thing is experience that comes into play as well. So it'll be an interesting little competition.
Dana Moreau
Again, for that alone, I'm there. So Gary, this has been terrific. Thank you so much for your time. Can you tell anyone who's interested in registering, where they can go, what they can do, and any other details that would be important to them?
Gary Scheiner
And the easiest thing to do is there's a webpage dedicated to the conference. It's diabetestechconference.org. Diabetestechconference.org. You go to that site, all the details are laid out. You'll see the topics. You'll see how to register. It's being held at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel, which is a really nice place.
It’s gonna be a fun meeting, not just a lot of learning opportunity, but we're gonna, as a co-chair along with Diana Isaacs, I can promise you we're gonna have fun at this meeting. You don't wanna miss it. It'd be a great place to be first weekend of December.
And all of us are always looking for CE credits, certainly for our certification, re-applications, and attendees of this program can get up to 8.75 CE credits applicable towards that. So it's another perk. And anyone who's an ADCES member also gets a $200 discount on the program.
Dana Moreau
Terrific. Thanks again for joining us, Gary. And thank you for listening to this episode of The Huddle. Make sure to download the resources discussed on today's episode. You can find them linked in the show notes at diabeteseducator.org slash podcast. And remember being an ADCES member gets you access to many, many resources, education, training, network opportunities, etc. Learn more about the many benefits of ADCES membership at diabeteseducator.org slash join.