CLEVELAND — Rite Aid pharmacists in Cleveland are participating in UnitedHealth Group’s Diabetes Control Program (DCP) to help people living with diabetes better manage their condition.
UnitedHealth said Friday that the program, part of its Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA), is available at 25 Rite Aid pharmacies in Cleveland. The DPCA is a community-based initiative aimed at fighting the epidemic of type 2 diabetes and prediabetes.
The DCP is based on curriculum that has been clinically proven to help control type 2 diabetes, according to UnitedHealth. Rite Aid will connect people with diabetes and who are enrolled in the DCP with its pharmacists who are trained in diabetes care and medication therapy management, offering private consultations that provide education and support.
Rite Aid pharmacists will also consult regularly with enrolled patients to evaluate their progress adhering to prescribed diabetes regimens and to review patients’ test results for blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol.
"Rite Aid’s relationship with the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance is an important step to show our patients with diabetes that they aren’t alone when it comes to managing their diabetes," Robert Thompson, executive vice president of pharmacy at Rite Aid, said in a statement. "Thanks to this innovative collaboration, Cleveland patients enrolled in the Diabetes Control Program can now receive one-on-one counseling with a Rite Aid pharmacist specifically trained in diabetes care and medication therapy management, all at no additional out-of-pocket cost."
The DCP is offered at no additional cost to Cleveland-area residents enrolled in UnitedHealth employer-sponsored health plans.
The health insurer noted that in 2010, about 890,000 people age 18 and older in Ohio — more than 10% of this age group — are estimated to have been diagnosed with diabetes. Also, approximately 266,000 people age 18 and older in Ohio are believed to have diabetes and not know it.
"Rite Aid is a longstanding partner in the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance. By broadening its reach in the Cleveland area, Rite Aid is helping more people who must deal with diabetes every day learn how to take control of the disease, make healthy lifestyle changes and improve their health," stated Deneen Vojta, senior vice president at UnitedHealth Group and chief clinical officer of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance.
