When crafting your patient engagement strategy, you want to focus on empowering your patients in their own health decision-making. Autonomy is the foundation of lifelong good health, especially for patients with chronic conditions, like diabetes. In fact, there's a vast number of great diabetes resources on the Web, including lots of YouTube videos.
Videos are easy to "prescribe" via your patient portal or show patients in-office. If you treat diabetic patients in your practice, consider sharing videos and video series with them. We've found five great options you can use to begin integrating video effectively into diabetes education:
Peter Attia: What if We're Wrong About Diabetes?
In this TED Talk, nutrition expert and former physician Peter Attia, MD reminisces about one of his first encounters with a diabetic patient as a surgical resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital. While it's a great lecture on physician empathy, it's also a valuable video for recently-diagnosed diabetes patients who may feel guilty, scared or ashamed about their condition. This TED Talk breaks down the social stigma surrounding diabetes, and it's a great way to remind patients--and yourself--that your understanding of the world never stops changing.
American Diabetes Association: Safe at School
This video series is a must for younger diabetic patients and their families. Featuring real children with diabetes, these videos show empowered kids in charge of their own care. If you have much younger patients who spend time in childcare, recommend their families and caregivers watch and discuss this series together.
Immune Boosting Yoga Flow Sequence
Despite what some enthusiastic bloggers may preach, yoga is not a cure-all for any disease. But because yoga is rooted in bodily awareness, it can be a great practice for patients with chronic health conditions like diabetes. There are plenty of yoga videos on the Web. This video by instructor Brett Larkin is gentle and focused on energizing the immune system. If your patients are looking for a simple workout plan, find themselves with fatigue, or are worried about increased vulnerability to illness, see if a routine like this one is right for them.
Diabetic Survival Kit: Novice Recipes
Another video series, Diabetic Survival Kit features amateur recipes for snacks, meals and desserts--all diabetic-friendly. Many of the recipes featured are also vegetarian, and others are easily adapted to be vegetarian or vegan. There are even recipes for diabetic-friendly funnel cake and gluten-free bread, so if your patients are worried about losing variety in their diets, prescribe this cooking series.
Summer vacations are a ball, but the planning is not. For diabetic travelers, a whole new level of stress is added to budgeting, packing, and getting to the airport on time. This video from Diabetic Diet Guide is a step-by-step for travel preparedness. Whether your patient is going to Disneyland for a long weekend or backpacking Europe, make sure they're prepared by prescribing this video guide first.
Remember, patient education is only what you make of it. If you focus on innovative solutions for empowering patients, you'll build a trusting relationship and have healthier patients in the long run! Make your practice stand out by giving exceptional care, and you'll be happy you went the extra mile.
