Medics recognized for diabetes presentation Published July 22, 2010 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The 81st Medical Group Hospital's health-care integrators recently returned from their annual Air Force annual conference in Orlando, Fla., where they garnered the "Best Poster Presentation" title. Lt. Col. Kirk Tresch and Capt. Don Smith joined more than 40 health-care integrators from 30 Air Force bases for the June 8 meeting. The Keesler representatives shared a process improvement program developed at the Keesler hospital in 2009. The Diabetic Interdisciplinary Comprehensive Evaluation program helps providers identify potential barriers to good glycemic control. According to Captain Smith, "The program provides the provider with insights and recommendations gleaned from an intensive multidisciplinary evaluation to help manage their diabetic patients. The DICE program is staffed by an internal medicine provider or endocrinologist, as well as a pharmacist, dietitian, psychologist and diabetic educator. Patients are rotated through 20-minute evaluations in one-on-one sessions by each discipline. Within 90 minutes, patients have received five evaluations from five different specialties." The captain noted, "From January to September 2009, the 36 participants showed an average 16 percent A1c decrease and 17.5 percent LDL decrease." Hemoglobin A1c is a lab draw that indicates how much sugar has been in the body for the preceding three months. In most labs, the normal range is 4-5.9 percent. In poorly-controlled diabetes, it's 8 percent or more, and in well-controlled patients it's less than 7 percent. LDL cholesterol is used to predict a person's risk of developing heart disease. Of all the forms of cholesterol in the blood, the LDL cholesterol is considered the most important form in determining risk of heart disease. For more information about the DICE program or how to enroll, call Colonel Tresch or Captain Smith, 376-3179.