Stephen W. Ponder, MD, FAAP, CDE, is a board-certified pediatric endocrinologist with Scott and White Healthcare in Temple, Tex. His interest in diabetes telehealth began in 2002, with his involvement in research and development of the GlucoMON-ADMS (automated diabetes management system). This project led him to conduct a 1-year randomized, controlled trial of this technology in preadolescent children with type 1 diabetes, the results of which were published in the March 2012 issue of Diabetes Care. In 2006, he developed a type 1 diabetes follow-up practice model called “Diabetes Housecall,” engaging families of his patients who reside in remote areas of Texas via webcam visits directly between his office and their homes.
Dr. Ponder has also been active in other areas of diabetes telehealth, including SMS (short message service)–based population health education and motivation, as well as real-time blood glucose monitoring and acute patient-management strategies using the resulting data.
A certified diabetes educator since 1989, Dr. Ponder chaired the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators (NCBDE) in 1996. He has been active in diabetes education certification at the national level for more than two decades and served on the 2013 Job Analysis Committee of the NCBDE, as well as numerous other committees within that organization in the past 20 years.
He is a member of the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the American Diabetes Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and The Endocrine Society.
He has volunteered for 33 consecutive years at one of the largest residential children's diabetes camping programs in the United States (Texas Lions Camp in Kerrville, Tex.) and has served as its medical director since 1989. He has also served on numerous local, state, and national committees and has delivered presentations on pediatric diabetes and childhood obesity in numerous national and international venues.
His clinical interests beyond telehealth include continuous glucose monitoring, insulin pump therapy, and the behavioral aspects of quality diabetes self-management as they relate to people of all ages. He co-chaired the development of one of the first Child Obesity Toolkits for the Texas Pediatric Society in 2005 and, in 2002, coined the S.A.F.E. acronym (Soft drinks or sugary beverages, Aftermeal snacks, Fast foods, and Exercise) for prevention of childhood obesity.
Dr. Ponder's passion for all things diabetes care–related is fueled by his near half-century of living well with the condition himself (diagnosed on 1 March 1966) and his deep interest in inspiring others with diabetes on their own paths. Since 1989, he has written hundreds of columns on diabetes topics for regional newspapers across Texas, and he hosts a morning weekly segment about child health on local television. He has also been active in local and regional advocacy efforts to reduce childhood obesity and improve access to quality diabetes education through innovative telehealth technologies.
Diabetes Spectrum associate editor Fran R. Cogen, MD, CDE, coordinated this From Research to Practice section.
