Diabetes Management
Diabetes Self-Management Education & Support (DSMES) services help people with diabetes learn how to take the best care of themselves through knowledge building, self-management skills, and empowerment. DSMES is provided by a healthcare team specialized in diabetes management who often have a personal connection to diabetes as well. DSMES will help answer a lot of your questions about diabetes and can provide many other benefits to you and your family.
DSMES services can help you:
- Make better decisions about your diabetes.
- Work with your health care team to get the support you need.
- Improve your hemoglobin A1c levels, blood pressure, and/or cholesterol levels.
- Understand how to take care of yourself and learn the skills to:
- Eat healthy.
- Be active.
- Check your blood sugar (glucose).
- Take your medicine.
- Cope with the emotional side of diabetes.
- Reduce your risk of other health problems.
Diabetes Self-Management Education & Support is a covered benefit under most insurances, including Medicaid and Medicare. Ask your doctor for a referral to DSMES services to help you manage your diabetes.
For more information on Diabetes Self-Management Education & Support, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.
The U.S. Diabetes Surveillance System overlays diabetes data with 15 social vulnerability variables to give a more complete look at factors potentially impacting people's ability to successfully manage diabetes and prevent type 2 diabetes around the U.S. To view the U.S. Diabetes Surveillance System, please click here.
For Healthcare Professionals:
Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) is the active, ongoing process of facilitating the knowledge, skill, and ability necessary for diabetes self-care. If you would like to know more about DSMES standards, accreditation and recognition, reimbursement, how DSMES can help your patients, and more, please read through the CDC’s DSMES Toolkit.
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services works to support improved access to and participation in DSMES through partnerships with healthcare providers, health systems, communities, and professional organizations. One of the ways the Utah Department of Health and Human Services supports our partners in diabetes care is through DSMES accreditation scholarships. If you are interested in receiving a scholarship to become an accredited DSME provider to offer quality education to your patients with diabetes, or would like more information on what the Utah Department of Health and Human Services is doing to support diabetes care and management and how you can be involved, please contact Brittany Ly at bly@utah.gov.