Being a member of the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) has always been part of my professional development. As a long-time member (over 15 years), I have attended most of the annual conferences and this year was no exception. I had a fantastic time networking with my peers, friends, and mentors while learning about new ways to engage patients through technology and best practices for DSME.

This year, the conference content had a strong emphasis on the increasing role of technology in patient engagement and education. More and more, our patients are engaging in conversations about diabetes on technology platforms. If we want to stay current and relevant to our patients, we will want to become comfortable joining them.

Here's a sample of technology-related topics presented at the conference:

• From Brochures to Apps: Evolving Strategies for Diabetes Education Resources in the 21st Century

• Reach More Patients in Less Time the Telehealth Way: Using the Telecommunications Modalities of Phone, Internet and Mobile Apps to Coach and Educate Your Patients

• The Use of mHealth to Manage and Improve Diabetes
  Twitter for Beginners – How to Get Started and Get Involved

How would you rate your technology acumen? Do any of these describe you?

1. You are on Facebook for personal use but have never tried Twitter and still don't really get it
2. Your patients mention advice they've received on Twitter and the legitimacy of the sources concerns you...but you're not on Twitter so you aren't able to evaluate and suggest other sources
3. You see any conversation about diabetes among peers to be a sign of engagement that you wish to support but you want to make sure they're not spreading misinformation
4. Your practice has not adopted telehealth or patient portals that give the patient the ability to email with the practice, but you want to be up to speed on what is possible

If your answers to these questions have you thinking that you need to get more up to speed regarding the impact of technology on diabetes education, here are some resources that might help:

Social Media and Healthcare Professionals: Benefits, Risks and Best Practices

How to use Twitter for Healthcare Effectively (4 tips)

The Top 50 Healthcare Influencers to follow on Twitter

Top 100 Twitter Accounts for Healthcare Professionals to Follow

Telemedicine is the Future of Healthcare

Patient Portals – 7 Features the Market is Demanding (infographic)

On a personal note related to technology and patient engagement, Healthy Interactions is excited to announce the launch of our new HI.Goals App! Developed in cooperation with trained health educators, the HI.Goals App helps keep your patients actively engaged with their health between sessions, and can be used as a companion piece to the Conversation Map® education tools.

You can learn more about this app by visiting www.higoalsapp.com or download it by searching Healthy Interactions either in iOS or Andriod app stores.

PS – Stay in the loop on future announcements and healthcare news and trends by following us on Twitter @HealthyInteract and on Facebook.

What are your favorite ways to use technology to engage your patients? What do you find that works? What are your concerns? Questions? Let us know in the comments below!