Transcending the template at EASD

20 September 2016

While international guidelines call for individualisation of diabetes treatment plans, there is little guidance on how to accomplish this, particularly in complex circumstances such as multimorbidity. A new educational initiative, led by Professor Silvio Inzucchi and Professor David Matthews – two authors of the 2016 ADA/EASD guidelines – aims to address this global practice gap. This began with an interactive, CME-accredited symposium on this important topic at this year’s annual EASD conference, which prompted over 70% of the audience to make measurable changes in their clinical practice.

Joint ADA/EASD guidelines have recently been published that recommend the individualisation of patient management, such as setting glycaemic targets adapted to patient circumstances, and escalating treatments strategically. However, there is a small mountain of available antidiabetic therapies, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, and little guidance on how to manage a non-standard patient. How does the practicing clinician set about addressing common, complex patient scenarios, in which diabetes presents alongside significant systemic comorbidities?

To address this is a new, CME-accredited educational programme: ‘Transcending the template: strategies for optimising complex patient management’. Bringing together a faculty of internationally renowned diabetes experts, TTT provides healthcare professionals with cutting-edge clinical guidance on the management of patients with important comorbidities, such as heart failure, obesity and chronic kidney disease.

TTT launched last week at the 52nd annual EASD meeting with an interactive symposium, accredited by three CME bodies: ACCME, EACCME and the local German accreditors, Bayerische Landesärztekammer. Feedback among participants was hugely positive, with 87.75% of the audience are better able to optimise treatment for complex patients, as assessed by a number of learning objectives.

The programme will continue over the coming months with a series of accredited online educational pieces, beginning with a live case study clinic on 29 November.

Transcending the template: strategies for optimising complex patient management is supported by funding from Novartis Pharma AG. All educational content and materials are created by the faculty in collaboration with PCM Scientific, the medical education company acting as scientific secretariat. The financial supporter has had no involvement in the creation or development of the educational content.

For more information about transcending the template, click here.