Diabetes Educators

What does a Diabetes Educator do?

Diabetes educators specialise in the provision of diabetes self-management education for people with diabetes.

Services

They provide support for people with diabetes, including gestational diabetes, integrating clinical care, self-management education, skills training and disease specific information to motivate patients to:

• Understand diabetes and make informed lifestyle and treatment choices
• Incorporate physical activity into daily life
• Use their medicines effectively and safely
• Monitor and interpret their blood glucose patterns
  

All persons with diabetes need access to a diabetes educator. Guidelines for referral to a diabetes educator include:

• Initial diagnosis of diabetes
• Introducing or changing diabetes medicines and insulin therapy
• Glycaemic targets or desired clinical goals not met
• Little self-care knowledge, skills or confidence
• Recurrent or severe episodes of hypoglycaemia and/or ketoacidosis
• Diagnosis of chronic diabetes complications or other comorbidities

Medicare Eligibility

To be eligible to provide services under the Medicare chronic disease management items, diabetes educators must be credentialled diabetes educators (CDE).