Diabetes is not just an endocrine disease. It is a cardiometabolic disease that crosses multiple specialties and benefits from multidisciplinary care in the cardiometabolic clinic.
“Diabetes is endocrine, cardiovascular, and kidney—all of these things all at once,” said Evan M. Sisson, PharmD, MHA, CDCES, Professor of Pharmacotherapy & Outcomes Science, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy. “The interdisciplinary team approach, having different people taking different views of the problem, helps you come up with a more complete solution for the individual patient.”
Dr. Sisson will join four colleagues for A Multidisciplinary Approach—Challenging Cases from the Cardiometabolic Clinic on Sunday, June 23, from 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. ET in Room W307 of the Orange County Convention Center. The panel discussion also will be livestreamed on the virtual meeting platform for registered meeting participants and will be available on-demand following the 84th Scientific Sessions.
“You have to consider the whole picture for each person,” said Goutham Rao, MD, Chief of Family Medicine at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, Chair of Family Medicine and Community at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, and Clinical Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. “In considering overall cardiometabolic risk, we’ve gone well beyond applying the old term of insulin resistance syndrome or syndrome X.”
He promotes lifestyle choices that include not smoking, a diet to prevent and reduce hypertension, and maintaining a healthy weight, as well as normal blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels.
“All of those cardiometabolic factors are intertwined,” Dr. Rao said.
He often consults a nutritionist and a psychologist in his cardiology practice. While primary care providers may not have a cardiometabolic team on call, he said, even small communities usually have nutritionists, dietitians, and cardiovascular, kidney, and other specialists to consult. And primary care providers have relationships with patients.
“Accountability and periodic contact make a difference in patient behavior and in their outcomes,” Dr. Rao said. “Sending a message to that patient routinely, maybe once a week, asking, ‘How you are doing?’ helps meet treatment and behavior goals.”
Cardiometabolic care with a team approach can become a reality in almost any setting, Dr. Sisson said.
“How you do it depends on your payer mix,” he explained. “Pharmacists are not recognized as providers for Medicare, but state by state, pharmacists are being recognized by Medicaid and private insurers. And in a managed care environment where outcomes count, people understand that it takes a team to maximize outcomes. Having a team approach will get you better outcomes.”
The panel also includes Chiadi E. Ndumele, MD, PhD, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Bruce A. Perkins, MD, MPH, FRCP(C), University of Toronto, Canada.
Get On-Demand Access to the Scientific Sessions
There is still time to register for on-demand access to learn about the latest advances in diabetes research, prevention, and care presented at the 84th Scientific Sessions. Select session recordings will be available through Aug. 26.