KINGWOOD, Texas—Vision Source, has created the BrainStream Diabetes Practice Protocol, a specialized training program designed to support “the rising need for holistic diabetic patient care,” according to an announcement this week.

BrainStream Diabetes Practice Protocol is a continuing education course offered exclusively to Vision Source member optometrists and serves as a guide for detecting and monitoring diabetes. One of the objectives is to “personalize the patient experience by melding state-of-the-art equipment with leading optometric clinical skills,” the announcement noted.

As of September, more than 60 percent of Vision Source clinicians had completed the protocol training, which brings together evidence-based medicine clinical care guidelines, value-based care principals and practice experience to ensure optimal patient experience, according to the announcement. As a result, Vision Source said it has established dozens of “thriving collaborative partnerships with organizations [such as] Privia Health, Minuteman Health, Memorial Hermann Health, UMass Memorial, University of Colorado Healthcare, Aledade and the Joslin Diabetes Centers.”

According to Vision Source, the rate of diabetes in the U.S. has reached epidemic proportions and is now ranked as the seventh-leading cause of death. In addition, the 2017 National Diabetes Statistics Report , published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that 30.3 million people are living with diabetes in the U.S. November is National Diabetes Month.

“Through the application of BrainStream Diabetes Practice Protocol training techniques, Vision Source optometrists use comprehensive medical eye exams to assess the overall health of the internal ocular structures including the retina and optic nerve,” according to the announcement. “For patients living with diabetes, Vision Source clinicians assess ocular findings to detect diabetes, review the advancement of the disease, determine if the disease is being controlled, and how prescribed medications are affecting ocular health.”

Added Vision Source vice president and chief medical officer Paul Williams, OD, “Vision Source is proud to partner with a host of managed care organizations nationwide to ensure that patients have access to an enhanced health care experience. Through our partnerships, Vision Source furthers our commitment to fighting the diabetes epidemic by building pipelines of care that improve the way American’s living with diabetes detect and manage the disease over a lifetime.”