Roughly 30 million Americans have diabetes. Disease management is an important piece for those living with a chronic illness, but some patients receive little to no training after leaving their doctor's office.
Hazel was that patient. As she explains in the Stanford Health Care video below, "I was diagnosed in January 2017... They give you a glucometer, they give you a box and say 'Here you go, poke yourself and have a nice day.'" That changed when she decided to come to the Stanford Diabetes Care Program, where she worked with a care team to design a treatment plan to best manage her condition.
Megan Mahoney, MD, medical director and clinic chief of Stanford Family Medicine, believes that a personalized, team-based approach is key. "Behavior change, identifying goals, identifying what their real expectation is out of their care and how they want to pursue that, is the most important thing we can do with our patients," she says.
As for Hazel, she left equipped with the knowledge and tools to manage her disease and improve her quality of life. "I feel well taken care of. The consequences of diabetes would be pretty scary if you don't have that team."
Photo courtesy of Stanford Health Care
