Diabetes is a complex disease not only for researchers and healthcare providers, but for pharmacists and others in the retail realm. Industry experts said offering services for consumers with diabetes goes beyond dispensing medications, and if done well, can drive traffic and increase store revenues.The pool of patients with diabetes is increasing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its National Diabetes Statistics Report for 2017, 30.3 million people — or 9.4% of the U.S. population — have diabetes. Of those, the CDC said 23.1 million people have been diagnosed, and 7.2 million people — or 23.8% of people with diabetes — are undiagnosed.
Also, according to the CDC’s Diabetes 2017 Report Card, the rate of new cases of adults being diagnosed with diabetes has decreased each year since 2008, but overall, the total number of adults with diagnosed diabetes continues to go up. The CDC attributed the increase to people living longer with the disease, “because of improvements in self-management practices and healthcare services.”
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