Prevention is better than treatment. In order to improve the medical care of diabetic patients, the Department of Health, Executive Yuan set up a demonstrative diabetes center in NTUH in April, 1991. The main purpose of this program is to provide appropriate health education and to improve the self care skills of the patients and families. The DM education team belongs to medical department of NTUH, and is composed of physicians, nurses and dieticians. We are also members of diabetic health promoting institutions certified by the health department and Taipei diabetic health network group. Our patient's diabetes club receive the honor of being the excellent patients' group in 2003 and 2004.

Comprehensive health education helps the patients to integrate diet control, medication, exercise and blood sugar monitoring into their daily life, in order to delay the development of complications and to improve the patient's life quality.There are about ten thousand diabetic patients in our outpatient department each year.
 

1. Work Description
   1. Individual diabetic education at OPD.
   2. Individual diabetic education in the ward by dieticians.
   3. DM complications screen clinics.
   4. DM special lectures for the public.
   5. Collecting various local and foreign teaching materials and designing teaching tools for our local classes.
   6. Assessing the appliances for patients use and teaching them how to use CGMS, pen injector, insulin pump etc.
   7. Training medical staffs and students.
   8. Promoting the use of glucometer in the hospital and monitoring its quality.
   9. Assisting in the development of the patient's association club about activities and their annual publication.
   10. Assisting in the summer camp for type 1 diabetes patients.
   11. Attending activities related to the world diabetic day.
   12. Holding DM care meetings and case discussions weekly.
   13. Assisting activities of Taiwan Association of Diabetic Educators.
   14. Sharing in case management of the diabetic health network.
   15. Establishing and maintaining our faculty group homepage of the nursing department
        
2. Future plan
   1. Integrating DM teaching materials and teaching methods and promoting good teaching health education models.
   2. Using new technology to improve self-care of diabetic patients.
   3. Assisting organizations to promoting continuing education.