LAS VEGAS — Pharmacies of Kroger Co.’s Smith’s and Safeway Inc.’s Vons supermarket chains are launching UnitedHealthcare’s Diabetes Control Program in Las Vegas and surrounding communities in Clark County, Nev.
UnitedHealthcare said Tuesday that under its Diabetes Control Program (DCP), Smith’s and Vons pharmacists in the Las Vegas area will hold one-on-one consultations with diabetes patients to help them better control their condition and reduce the risk of developing complications from the disease.
Interaction with pharmacists, too, can improve diabetes patients’ adherence to their prescription medications and physicians’ care regimens, UnitedHealth noted.
There are 31 Smith’s pharmacies and nine Vons pharmacies in Clark County.
The chains’ DCP participation mark the debut of UnitedHealth’s Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA) in the Las Vegas area. As a "call to action" for the community to tackle the diabetes epidemic, UnitedHealth and the YMCA of Southern Nevada are holding a community forum featuring Kay Lynn Bowman, Pharm.D., with Smith’s; Misha Osborne, Pharm.D., with Vons Pharmacy; Mike Lubbe, president and chief executive officer of the YMCA of Southern Nevada; Lisa Chapman-Smith, senior vice president at UnitedHealth Group; and Paul Tomasic, M.D., of Southwest Medical Associates;.
The DPCA is anchored by two evidence-based programs: the Diabetes Control Program (DCP) and the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). The latter s an innovative lifestyle coaching program conducted in a group setting through the Y that’s designed to help people with prediabetes and who are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes prevent or delay the onset of the disease through healthy eating, increased physical activity and other lifestyle changes. The year-long program encompasses 16 weekly sessions and monthly follow-up.
UnitedHealth reported that in Nevada, 8% of the population has diabetes, and diabetes costs the state $167 million annually, based on data from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 63% of Nevada adults are overweight or obese. The prevalence of diabetes in Clark County is 8.2%, slightly higher than the state rate.
