11/2002

PHARMACISTS CAN HELP PATIENTS CONTROL DIABETES

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and the Michigan Pharmacists Association (MPA) has joined forces with the Michigan Diabetes Outreach Network (MDON) to publicize the event and make people aware of the dangers of unmanaged diabetes and what their pharmacist can do to help them manage the disease.

Diabetes is a serious disease affecting 491,000 adults in Michigan, as well as an additional 216,200 who have diabetes and don't know it. There is no cure for diabetes, and it can cause serious complications such as amputations and eye heart and kidney disease. However, diabetes can be controlled. Changes to your activity level, diet and lifestyle can help. In addition, it is important to take your medication as directed and monitor your blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure levels. This is where your pharmacist can play a major role in helping you manage diabetes and potential complications related to diabetes.

Pharmacists begin providing diabetes with a thorough medical history and physical assessment of the patient, including blood glucose monitoring, blood pressure measurement to check for elevated results that can lead to cardiac complications and foot examinations to check for abrasions, cuts and wounds that aren't healing and can lead to gangrene. Pharmacists make recommendations to patients on how to incorporate a better diet and more exercise into their lifestyles in order to minimize the amount of medication therapy needed to control the diabetes. They teach patients how to measure their blood glucose levels at home, give themselves insulin shots and recognize and treat symptoms when their blood sugar levels are too high or too low. Pharmacists routinely meet with patients to reinforce their diet, exercise and medication plans, remind them about the blindness, heart disease, loss of limbs and kidney failure that result from uncontrolled diabetes and share the patients' progress with their physicians to recommend drug therapy alterations or necessary diagnostic monitoring.

In order to help pharmacists get the word out about diabetes management, MPA and MDON are offering patient education materials including table tents, bag stuffers and brochures on their websites for download by pharmacists or the general public. Items and links to other informational sites can be found by visiting the MPA Diabetes Awareness page at www.michiganpharmacists.org/diabetes.htm or by going to the MDON website at www.diabetesinmichigan.org.

The MPA, serving 3,500 pharmacy professionals, strives to be a leader in professional and scientific advancement by following its mission of encouraging and supporting its members as the professionals responsible for the delivery of patient-oriented pharmaceutical care.

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