Interdisciplinary treatment of diabetes mellitus in a military treatment facility.
The American Diabetes Association emphasizes interdisciplinary management as the standard of care for patients with diabetes. Many times, however, interdisciplinary means various health care professionals treating a patient but not necessarily interacting with each other regarding the patient's care. Recently, Tripler Army Medical Center replicated the Joslin Diabetes Center's diabetes outpatient intensive treatment program as part of a Joslin Diabetes Center/Department of Defense/Veteran's Administration research collaboration. Tripler Army Medical Center named this interdisciplinary program Holopono, which is Hawaiian for success. Holopono is a team of health care professionals providing integrated care and education to a group of diabetes patients over 3.5 days. Individual care management, aided by an Internet-based telemedicine system, then continues for 1 year after entry into the program. This article describes the Holopono program, the role of each team member, and how the team functions together to provide comprehensive diabetes care.
Earles
J E
JE
Department of Psychology, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI 96859, USA.
Hartung
G H
GH
Dickert
J M
JM
Moriyama
H H
HH
Coll
K J
KJ
Aiello
L M
LM
Jackson
R
R
Polonsky
W
W
D003191:Comprehensive Health Care; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii; D006772:Hospitals, Military; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008887:Military Medicine; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*