Dr Robert Gabbay Outlines the Importance of Collaborative Care for Patients With Diabetes

It takes a village to manage people with diabetes, and that includes involving other professionals like diabetes educators, dieticians, and pharmacists more effectively, said Robert A. Gabbay, MD, PhD, FACP, chief medical officer of the Joslin Diabetes Center, chair of Patient-Centered Diabetes Care, and editor-in-chief of Evidence-Based Diabetes Management.

Transcript (slightly modified)

What is the importance of collaborative care for patients with diabetes?

Collaborative care can involve a lot of different aspects of diabetes care. Ultimately, it's this idea that it takes a village to really manage people with diabetes, and that involves many different health professionals. One model involving a psychiatrist and healthcare professionals more effectively to manage depression in diabetes has been shown to be quite effective in terms of reducing healthcare cost and improving outcomes. It's the use of diabetes educators more effectively, dieticians, pharmacists, and there are a variety of models that have shown that when you engage those other members of the healthcare team, you get better outcomes.