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Online resource designed to point physicians, patients toward credible information
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American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 20th Annual Meeting
SAN DIEGO — As more patients with diabetes turn to the Internet for information, a roadmap to reliable resources is necessary. To aid patients with diabetes in finding reputable resources, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology will launch a website designed to point patients and physicians in the right direction.
“There is a clutter of information and misinformation, and, on a good day, maybe 20% of the information on the Internet regarding diabetes is credible because anyone with an agenda can create a blog,” George Grunberger, MD, founder and co-chair of the Grunberger Diabetes Institute in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and professor of internal medicine, molecular medicine and genetics at Wayne State University School of Medicine, told Endocrine Today.
The idea driving the website’s development is to have diabetes experts serve as traffic controllers by vetting online sources and determining what information and data are credible, Grunberger explained. Currently, details regarding the evaluation system are still in the works and will be refined as the project progresses.
“Clearly, this is an ambitious undertaking because we are trying to target physicians and health care providers, people with diabetes and caregivers, so we need to look across the whole spectrum,” he said during a press conference.
Grunberger said the online resource might not only aid patients in making the right decisions but also ease the pressure put on physicians who are not experts in diabetes care.
“About 90% to 95% of patients with type 2 diabetes never see a specialist, and this is a huge problem,” Grunberger said. “In a way, we have two choices: we can either train thousands of diabetes experts or try to teach people who actually take care of patients with diabetes about the current standards of diabetes care.”
The website, which was developed with support from Takeda Pharmaceuticals, is slated to debut in June.
Disclosure: Dr. Grunberger has no identified conflicts of interest.
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