Healthy Interactions is now a recognized organization for the Centers of Disease Control’s (CDC) Diabetes Prevention Program. And two weeks ago, CMS proposed a prediabetes prevention program expansion and reimbursement that is expected to be approved by the end of 2016. Clearly, the war on diabetes is intensifying.

Over a long career of clinical practice, physician executive experience, and population health data analysis, I (and many others) have concluded that improved patient engagement and appropriate influence of physician decisions at the point of care have the largest impact on waste. That impact happens when patients are supported in making changes required to live a more healthy life, and when physicians and nurses as patients’ trusted advisors can guide patients with best evidence about the potential effectiveness and cost of a particular test and/or intervention. It is critical to embed support systems in both of these key areas, which are under-supported with accessible, relevant, and efficient tools.

When thinking about St. Patrick’s Day, the first thing that comes to mind is often food, beer, green, and parties. For those of us living in Chicago, the day is often centered on going downtown and seeing our Chicago River colored green for this special event.

Let me start by thanking Barbara for letting me share my voice (and, by proxy, the voice of our digital team) in this space. Rest assured, she will be back! So, who am I? Well, my name is Sid Misra and I am leading the digital development efforts at Healthy Interactions. I want to use my blog time to introduce you to the team behind digital at Healthy Interactions and talk a little about why we even exist. In fact, let me start with that.

What’s love got to do with it? It is all about love. Love is the engine that ignites and fuels it all. It all starts with respecting ourselves enough and caring enough to do the right thing. Being on a plane, we are instructed to put the oxygen mask on our face before we can assist the child passenger. The same applies in diabetes, as we need to attend to our internal needs first to be able help others.

I am pleased to introduce you to Mary who has been doing something that I as a dietitian cannot – help us learn how to cook and enjoy! Yes, it is true, I am a dietitian and yet I do not know how to cook. I help my patients understand healthy eating and provide Medial Nutrition Therapy to improve disease care outcomes, but I cannot help them actually cook...

It is all starting now — no parking available at the gym, and once I get there, there are no lockers to put my stuff in, and, of course, all of the desirable machines are occupied. Everyone is starting to implement goals to become better than last year.

We would like to dedicate this holiday season blog to everyone involved in Healthy Interactions’ work: all of the amazing Conversation Map facilitators from over 120 countries, our association partners, such as American Diabetes Association, International Diabetes Federation, as well as all of the local associations involved in our global program. I also would like to give thanks to our corporate sponsors who allow for all of this to continuously happen.

Last month, I was fortunate to be able to attend Obesity Week in Los Angeles. This conference not only highlighted treatment options for obesity, but also identified where healthcare is falling short to tackle this epidemic. One consistent theme of the conference was the power that all of us have as individuals to change the direction of current treatment. This brought to mind a note that a former patient sent me recently.

For the last 20 years, I have been providing patient education and care and for the last 15 years, I have been a Certified Diabetes Educator. But, the most learning and advancement in my career has happened over the last 8 years—when I started using the Conversation Map^® tools.