Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

As you know from the UHC/Medtronic uproar last week (CLICK HERE to read my take), diabetes advocacy has taken on a renewed sense of purpose.

But when I mention diabetes advocacy, the two biggest reactions I hear from people are: I don’t have the time; and I don’t have the platform.

What if I told you that you do have a platform? And what if I told you that taking advantage of that platform could save time over, I don’t know, writing a letter and sending it in the mail. Or creating a website and posting to it. Or going onto Facebook and shouting to all of your friends and family, most of whom agree with you anyway?

Enter the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition. Just as they have done for the CGM Medicare and #SuspendBidding issues for seniors in the USA, DPAC has created a page (your platform) where you can tell your story about navigating the not-so-enchanted forest of healthcare. Whether it’s the latest debate about exclusive agreements with device makers, or unexplained formulary changes that force you to switch from the insulin that works best for you, you now have a place to voice your frustration and share your specific details.

CLICK HERE to access your very own platform for change.

Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition will be compiling the stories submitted and sharing them with the Diabetes Community, the healthcare universe, and our elected officials. So tell your story… no one else knows it as well as you. Speak from the heart. Use this opportunity to provide your own brand of diabetes advocacy, and help others who are undoubtedly going through the same things.

One additional item I’d like to share with you too: There will be a DPAC Tweet-In on Thursday night in the USA beginning at 8:00 ET. It will be an hour where we’ll get together and send advocacy tweets on the #SuspendBidding and #DiabetesAccessMatters issues, and much more. There’s a web page that gives you the entire step-by-step process so you don’t have to ask “where do I start?”. You’ll find that page HERE.

All are welcome, and in fact encouraged, to submit their story. More than that, all are needed to enact real change for our community. The best part is, Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition allows you to perform that advocacy on a real level in a very easy way.

Diabetes advocacy should not be the domain of a few. Take just a couple of minutes today… a couple of minutes Thursday night. I promise you that your voice will be heard. You will make a difference. And you will feel good about it. We have the numbers. Now let’s work on putting our numbers to use not only for ourselves, but for the betterment of everyone living with a chronic condition.

Thank you for your advocacy.