Through regular counseling sessions, the pharmacist becomes another set of eyes and ears to monitor patients with diabetes and help them keep their disease under control, said Deborah Carson, Pharm. D., associate professor of pharmacy practice, and one of the study coordinators. Diabetes costs the state of South Carolina about one billion dollars per year in health care. Associated complications like kidney disease, blindness, and increased risk of amputation and stroke, mean more visits to the emergency room and more frequent hospitalizations. South Carolina has about the highest prevalence of diabetes of any state in the nation.
Many diabetics have only minimal education about their disease.
And what education they have had, has not been reinforced enough, said Allyson Hennecy, R.Ph., Professional Pharmacy. We frequently see patients who have lost a limb because of complications that could have been lessened or prevented with the proper diabetes education. Potential participants for the Partners in Care project were identified by the S.C. Office of Insurance Services. After their primary physician approved participation, patients were given the opportunity to sign up. Initial visits began in July.