The Professional Practice Committee (PPC) of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is responsible for the “Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes” position statement, referred to as the “Standards of Care.” The PPC is a multidisciplinary expert committee comprised of physicians, diabetes educators, registered dietitians, and others who have expertise in a range of areas, including adult and pediatric endocrinology, epidemiology, public health, lipid research, hypertension, and preconception and pregnancy care. Appointment to the PPC is based on excellence in clinical practice and/or research. While the primary role of the PPC is to review and update the Standards of Care, it is also responsible for overseeing the review and revisions of ADA’s position statements and scientific statements.
All members of the PPC are required to disclose potential conflicts of interest with industry and/or other relevant organizations. These disclosures are discussed at the onset of each Standards of Care revision meeting. Members of the committee, their employer, and their disclosed conflicts of interest are listed in the “Professional Practice Committee for the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2015” table (see p. S88).
For the current revision, PPC members systematically searched MEDLINE for human studies related to each section and published since 1 January 2014. Recommendations were revised based on new evidence or, in some cases, to clarify the prior recommendation or match the strength of the wording to the strength of the evidence. A table linking the changes in recommendations to new evidence can be reviewed at http://professional.diabetes.org/SOC. As for all position statements, the Standards of Care position statement was reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee of ADA’s Board of Directors, which includes health care professionals, scientists, and lay people.
Feedback from the larger clinical community was valuable for the 2015 revision of the Standards of Care. Readers who wish to comment on the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2015 are invited to do so at http://professional.diabetes.org/SOC.
The ADA funds development of the Standards of Care and all ADA position statements out of its general revenues and does not use industry support for these purposes.
The PPC would like to thank the following individuals who provided their expertise in reviewing and/or consulting with the committee: Donald R. Coustan, MD; Stephanie Dunbar, MPH, RD; Robert H. Eckel, MD; Henry N. Ginsberg, MD; Edward W. Gregg, PhD; Silvio E. Inzucchi, MD; Mark E. Molitch, MD; John M. Morton, MD; Robert E. Ratner, MD; Linda M. Siminerio, RN, PhD, CDE; and Katherine R. Tuttle, MD.
Members of the PPC
Richard W. Grant, MD, MPH (Chair)*
Thomas W. Donner, MD
Judith E. Fradkin, MD
Charlotte Hayes, MMSc, MS, RD, CDE, ACSM CES
William H. Herman, MD, MPH
William C. Hsu, MD
Eileen Kim, MD
Lori Laffel, MD, MPH
Rodica Pop-Busui, MD, PhD
Neda Rasouli, MD*
Desmond Schatz, MD
Joseph A. Stankaitis, MD, MPH*
Tracey H. Taveira, PharmD, CDOE, CVDOE
Deborah J. Wexler, MD*
ADA Staff
Jane L. Chiang, MD
Erika Gebel Berg, PhD
Subgroup leaders
