No question about it that the face of the diabetes landscape is changing everyday. The diabetes health field is adding players and removing players with each yearly cycle. Whether it be Obamacare or competitive bidding for diabetes supplies, the diabetes world of just a year ago, is different from today, which will change again in the very near future.
It is not all bad, it is not all good but it will be changing for some time to come.
As the time for Doctors and Diabetes Educators in hospitals and/or Doc’s offices becomes limited, a new partner in the diabetes world is emerging more and more; and that is the Pharmacist. I should not say new because pharmacists have been around for a long time but it is not until fairly recently that they are being called upon as never before to become a bona-fide partner in the battle we all face on a daily basis.
Have you had to rely on the Pharmacist at the local drugstore, whether it be in a national chain, a local store, or even the drug store in your local supermarket; to answer your questions as you pick up your prescriptions? Is your pharmacist able to answer questions regarding the use of diabetes supplies; how to work a glucometer, and what meds will react with insulin; or not?
I see more and more the initials CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator) after many pharmacists titles, and I also know there is a drive as never before into training the pharmacists in better diabetes management.
From a business perspective it makes sense if the pharmacist knows about diabetes, doesn’t it?
For those of you who do not use a mail order pharmacy, I ask you to chime in today how important is your pharmacist in your diabetes care, or the care of your child. If they are not involved or do not help, let us know that too.
Everyone’s time limit with us, to discuss good diabetes care, keeps getting shorter and shorter, it just seems that pharmacists need to receive some sort of training, and many do, to be able to answer our questions. I have to also think that they need to be up-to-date with the most recent and best advancements in diabetes care.
So chime in, does your pharmacist play a role in diabetes care, and/or do you think they should be able to?
I am a diabetes dad.
Please visit my Diabetes Dad FB Page and hit ‘like’.