The internet is bringing people together like never before. Amy Tenderich is a journalist, blogger, and nationally known patient advocate. She hosts a series of diabetes innovation leadership events, and is a frequent public speaker on diabetes and digital health topics and is also the Co-author of the book, "Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes." Since Amy launched DiabetesMine.com, it’s become one of the Top Health Blogs in the country and worldwide and has joined Healthline Media to create summits and forums to help bring people together.

Don’t miss out on this conversation, jump in and learn more about how Amy’s work has led to patient advocacy.

[00:01 - 06:41 ] Opening Segment

• I introduce Amy Tenderich
• Amy shares her background and story
• Becoming an advocate for patients as a patient 
• The growth of DiabetesMine
• Innovating diabetes tech early on
• Launching events and forums to bring people together

[06:42 - 16:31 ] The Growing Interactions Between Diabetes and Social Media

• Amy talks about the changes from then vs. now
• From exciting peer support to something taken for granted
• A growing sense of anger and feeling of exploitation
• The social media activity between T1D and T2D
• A growing voice 
• Findings from research 
• How to deal with misinformation and abuse 
• Moderations 
• Two-way communication 
• The problems of comparison
• How Amy navigates consumer and client requests 

[16:32 - 23:44 ] 

• Amy’s views on ‘digital diabetes’
• The evolution of our world
• Top things consumers say change their life
• CGM is the number one thing
• A mix of online resources and community 
• Looping systems and online appointments 
• How different demographics respond to diagnosis 
• Are vendors getting it? 
• What people want vs. practicality 

[23:45 - 31:07 ] Closing Segment

• What’s next for Amy and DiabetesMine?
• Using strengths to advocate for the community 
• Future events and forums 
• Helping people feel represented 
• Organizations attempting to respond to criticism 
• Projecting 7 years into the future 
• Final Words 

Tweetable Quotes:

“A lot of people who thought that they would not like to have online doctors appointments have actually found that it’s really convenient and they often get just as good attention from their doctors, sometimes maybe even better.” - Amy Tenderich

“People want to do the least possible for their diabetes and get the best possible outcomes.” - Amy Tenderich 

Resources Mentioned: 

• Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes

Connect with Amy on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Go check out https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine to learn more about their innovations in Diabetes.

To know more, you can connect with me, David Kliff on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or email me at dkliff@diabeticinvestor.com. Be sure to visit https://diabeticinvestor.com for more insights and real-time analyses on the evolving business of diabetes.

Don’t be shy, I’d love to hear from you! You can also reach me at 224-715-3761.

NOTE*: We are in no way a replacement for real medical professionals. All information in this podcast is obtained through reliable sources. Please be aware of our Disclaimer.

LEAVE, SUBSCRIBE, REVIEW + help someone who wants to learn more about the wacky world of diabetes and everything happening within it.