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WASHINGTON — The American Pharmacists Association Foundation is being awarded a multiyear grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation to support its work on diabetes care.
APhA said Thursday that with the grant, awarded through the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation’s $100 million Together on Diabetes initiative, it will work with government agencies, professional associations, pharmacy chains and other stakeholders to adapt and expand its evidence-based diabetes care model to 25 communities heavily affected by diabetes.
The APhA Foundation’s diabetes care model is based on research projects including the Asheville Project, Patient Self-Management Program for Diabetes and Diabetes Ten City Challenge.
Its new initiative, Project IMPACT: Diabetes, will fully integrate pharmacists into the health care team to address some of the challenges faced by people living with diabetes. The effort will involve partnerships with APhA, the Center for Health Value Innovation, Giant Food Stores, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women’s Health, the National Diabetes Education Program, the Health Resource Services Administration Pharmacy Services Support Center and Walgreens.
"Working with the Together on Diabetes initiative and our national partners, we look forward to creating a meaningful framework for getting more evidence-based diabetes care to the people who need it the most," Benjamin Bluml, vice president of research for the APhA Foundation, said in a statement.
According to Bluml, an estimated 23.6 million Americans are living with diabetes, and another 57 million have prediabetes. Yet only 17.9 million people are actually diagnosed with diabetes, and of those 3 million aren’t being treated and 9 million aren’t being treated successfully, he noted.
"Pharmacists are one of the most accessible health care providers available to the patient, and their collaborative care efforts with patients, physicians and other health care providers have consistently helped people with diabetes improve therapeutic outcomes, increase activity and lead healthier lives," Bluml commented. "Project IMPACT: Diabetes presents a unique opportunity to connect more patients to an interdisciplinary health care team with a whole-person orientation within the context of their community."
