Medicare joins the 21^st century!

In the August 2010 Yada Yada   we wrote about an election promise that caught our eye: online consultations with specialists. Access to specialists is also highlighted as one of the Top 10 issues for type 1s in our Issues Statement.

Now, almost a year later and since Friday, 1 July 2011, Australians are eligible to receive Medicare funded consultations with medical specialist via a video conference - how sweet is that?! Glad to see the Australian government kept their promise on this one. :-) To read more about it, and to find out how it works, go here.

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Type 1 Diabetes Network at ConnecT-1n

What is ConnecT-1n, you ask? ConnecT-1n is an interactive weekend workshop for young adults, aged 18-25 years, who have type 1. It is run by Diabetes Australia (Vic), and each session covers activities that affect everyday life, such as carb counting, exercise, travel and sexual health.

This year, the workshop was held in early July, and we were delighted the Type 1 Diabetes Network was invited to speak! Our Public Officer Colleen represented us. Coll spoke on the closing panel about our work at T1DN, and emphasised the value of connecting with others who have type 1 - both in person (like our meets) and online (like the Reality Check forum).

The late Stan Clark & his phenomenal contribution to diabetes care  

Photo courtesy of Tony Bernauer

It is with great sadness that we report Stan Clark passed away recently. If you didn't know who Stan was, then you may not realise the huge impact Stan had on all of our lives.

In the late 1970s, Stan designed and built a glucose meter that could read test strips for measuring blood glucose levels. Before then, blood glucose testing had to be done in hospitals or by pathologists, and home testing used urine strips - cumbersome and not very accurate. Blood testing machines were far too expensive for patients to have at home, but Stan's new meter was affordable. By developing this meter, he changed home testing completely, bringing it into the 20th century. Some of our members even had one of Stan's meters as their first meter!

Stan Clark was an engineer from Sydney, and his main inspiration for developing the meter was his daughter, Lisa, who has type 1 diabetes. But in helping her, he has helped us all. Stan, we are grateful for what you have done for diabetes care. May you rest in peace.

Changes to how HbA1C is reported  

You may start to notice some changes the next time you have your HbA1C levels tested. To standardise the test worldwide, HbA1C will move from being reported as a percentage to international units, which are represented in mmol/mol. Starting this month, there will be a 2-year changeover period, so expect to see your HbA1C results reported in both ways. HbA1C percentages will be completely phased out by 2013.

The international units are a more accurate measure of HbA1c, and remove potential confusion between HbA1c values and blood glucose values. To find out more about this change read the Australian health professionals' position statement here, and make sure you speak to your health professional if you have any questions.

 Calling for Seed Award nominations!    

Our annual Seed Award recognises people who make a difference by contributing to the type 1 community, and goes to an individual or group that meets all 3 criteria:

• provided support, information and/or a voice for the Type 1 community
• demonstrated initiative and intelligence in their endeavours
• been committed to the principle that people living with type 1 diabetes can and should have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives.

Do you know someone who meets these criteria? Please nominate them! In your nomination, include a brief description of how the nominee meets each criterion. Please include your contact details, and, if known, the nominee's contact details too. To get an idea about the type of nominations we're looking for, read about last year's winner, the fantastic Cheryl Steele.

Email your nominations to Colleen at colleen@d1.org.au by 31st August 2011. If you have any questions, you can also ask Colleen by emailing her or giving her a call on 0414 281 539.

For more information about the Seed Award and how it started, go   here.

• Moving from public to private? 
• Coeliacs biopsy 
• Eating with coeliacs 

From everyone at  

The Type 1 Diabetes Network