Perspectives on Diabetes Care

By Alison Massey MS, RD, CDCES  

As a diabetes care and education specialist (DCES) for over a decade, I’ve spent time coordinating accredited diabetes education programs as well as forging my own path as the first DCES in two different large primary care / internal medicine practices. Along the way, I’ve learned a few things about the importance of communicating the value of the services and programs that a DCES can offer.   

Communicating the DCES value extends not only to practice managers, but to referring practitioners as well as people with diabetes. It requires switching the focus of your marketing strategy and recognizing that you need to be not only a great clinician but also comfortable with public relations (PR). We understand our value, and it can be frustrating to have to constantly remind others of our important role in supporting those living with diabetes. Creating and maintaining good PR buzz around the types of services you offer goes a very long way in ensuring that you have the right kind of support from administration referring providers and patients that can advocate on your behalf about their positive experience with a DCES and/or an accredited DSMES program.   

ADCES offers a members-only toolkit to help showcase the value of the DCES with an overview of proven strategies. Understanding your audience is a key component to determining which strategies you might utilize. For example, when talking to administrators, you might consider focusing on citing sources highlighting how our services support population health strategies and performance measures that are often tied to reimbursement for the clinic or department. When introducing yourself to referring providers, one might focus on how your clinical skills can support their patient care by improving health outcomes, supporting and reinforcing health education and saving them time with more collaborative patient care. People with diabetes will be most interested in your clinical background and what kind of services you offer.  

It’s helpful to have an online presence that shows your expertise. Many of my patients have mentioned that they “looked me up online” prior to their visit which helped with their decision making regarding setting up an appointment or attending a class. Creating an online website portfolio or requesting a more extensive landing page with a short professional bio for each DCES that is working in your program can be hugely beneficial for sharing your expertise. 

The ultimate value of your services will naturally shine through your efforts but maintaining good PR is not to be underestimated in the long-term success in showcasing the value of the DCES. Visit ADCES’s Showcasing the Value of Your Services Toolkit for more advice and tips!