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CrossRoads
CrossRoads
The Roadmap to Informed Healthcare

Inside:
November Is...
Fast Facts - ADA
Trendsetters - Finland
Diabetes & Chinese Medicine
Peer to Peer: Armada Summit
Target: Medical Devices

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November, 2013
Greetings!

Welcome to the November issue of CrossRoads, a regular newsletter from Pharmacist Partners.
November is National Diabetes Month
November 2013
 
Novo Nordisk is sponsoring advanced Diabetes training with the American Pharmacists Association: The Pharmacist and Patient-Centered Diabetes Care Certificate Training Program is a newly revised, practice-based activity designed to equip pharmacists with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to provide effective, evidence-based diabetes care. Five self-study modules provide comprehensive instruction in current diabetes concepts and standards of care. The live seminar incorporates case studies and hands-on skills training focused on the situations most likely to be encountered-as well as the services most needed-in community and ambulatory care practice settings. Participants will gain experience evaluating and adjusting drug therapy regimens for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, counseling patients about lifestyle interventions, analyzing and interpreting self-monitoring of blood glucose results, and assessing the overall health status of patients to identify needed monitoring and interventions.

Novo is the # 1 company in "detailing" in the US Diabetes Market:   Among 50 US-based endocrinologists polled by FirstWord, Novo Nordisk was cited by 36 percent of respondents, followed by Eli Lilly and Medtronic - which markets insulin pumps - each securing 14 percent of the vote. Of the key diabetes players, it is Novo Nordisk that has most aggressively expanded its diabetes sales force over the past few years, particularly in the US.
Diabetes Fast Facts
The economic cost of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. is $245 billion year.
 
Diabetes in the United States:

* 25.8 million Americans, 8.3% of the population have diabetes
* 18.8 million Americans have diagnosed
diabetes
* 7.0 million Americans have undiagnosed diabetes (27% of diabetes is undiagnosed)
* 1.9 million Americans aged 20 years or older are newly diagnosed with diabetes each year (5,205/day)
* Age 20 years or older: 25.6 million, or 11.3% of all people in this age group have diabetes

Trendsetters: Finland
Researchers at Finland's Tampere University have identified a set of viruses they believe to be responsible for Type 1 diabetes, and they have formulated a vaccine for it that has had promising results in mice. The enterovirus in question attacks the pancreas, and is similar to the virus that causes polio. They're forming a research syndicate to raise the €700m needed for human trials. 

 

Researchers have looked at more than a hundred different strains of the virus and pinpointed five that could cause diabetes. They believe they could produce a vaccine against those strains.

 

"We have identified one virus type that carries the biggest risk," said professor Heikki Hy�ty. "A vaccine could also protect against its close relatives, to give the best possible effect.

 

Diabetes According to Traditional Chinese Medicine

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, diabetes is caused by an imbalance of the cyclical flow of Qi within the meridians and organ systems. This particular imbalance produces heat that depletes the body's fluids and Qi causing symptoms such as: fatigue, lethargy, excessive thirst and urination, excessive eating, poor wound healing, and infections. 

The Main Meridan Channels 

In treating diabetes, Oriental medicine offers a way to address each patient individually to eliminate the symptoms associated with diabetes and reduce the need for insulin. The treatment for diabetes will focus on regulating the circulation of blood and Qi and balancing the organ systems to improve pancreatic function and address internal heat and the depletion of fluids. 

 

There isn't a wealth of scientific evidence and studies. Dr. Li Dong, head of diabetic treatment             & research at "Cha-slu", Dubai Wellbeing Center, and 16 other doctors from UAE, studied 60 diabetic patients from the UAE. Experts divided them randomly into two groups: the acupuncture group (38 patients) and the control group (22 patients). Both groups followed a regulated diet during the study, but one group received acupuncture once a day for 30 days. Among the 22 participants who took usual Diabetes-prescribed drugs, there were 12 cases rated as effectively treated and 8 cases as markedly effective. However 20 of them showed serious side effects such as kidney malfunction. In the acupuncture group 27 patients were treated successfully and 11 needed more treatment. None of the 38 patients showed any side effects.

"Peer-to-Peer" Points of Interest: Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit 2014

2014 Tenth Anniversary Armada Specialty Pharmacy Summit: Wynn Hotel, Las Vegas, May 5-9, 2014


In 2005, Armada Health Care identified the need to organize and host the industry's first national Specialty Pharmacy Summit. Since then, attendance at this annual showcase has grown exponentially; with last year's Summit attracting 2,200 industry participants!

Dennis Miller entertained and enlightened the audience as the 2013 Summit's Keynote Speaker with insights and humor on a wide range of topics from healthcare to politics.   

The General Session highlights were presentations by industry leaders and included Robert Bazemore, President of Janssen Biotech, and Mike Ellis, Corporate Vice President of Walgreens, and Dr. Eric Topol, Chief Academic Officer at Scripps Health. We are certain that the 2014 Summit will be as engaging, if not more so.

The upcoming Specialty Pharmacy Summit will offer a unique opportunity to learn more about the current specialty pharmacy channel and provide insight into future changes in this market.  

Here's a link to the agenda, and we hope to see you there.  

 http://www.armadasummit.com/images/PDF/Preliminary_Schedule_9-19-13.pdf 

TARGET: Medical Devices 

 Medical Device - Peer Education & Advocacy:

Pharmacists are among the most knowledgeable and highly trained professionals in the industry and play an influential role in the healthcare decision-making process. 

 

Our representatives are pharmacists themselves, with broad-based clinical knowledge and expertise in: 

  • traditional and specialty medications  
  • IV medications   
  • USP 797 requirements  
  • home infusion devices and nebulizers  
  • high alert medications including oncology preparations  

 

 
 

 

Our guiding principle is in line with our clients - to improve patient health.  

 

Although there is still no cure for diabetes, treatment options are now better than ever, whether a person has type 1 or type 2 diabetes, all thanks to the marriage of modern medicine to modern technology. Areas such as self-monitoring blood glucose levels and administering insulin have seen the most significant improvements.  In addition, there are indications of a possible vaccine against diabetes in development. According to industry analysts, scientists have developed the world's first drug that stops the destruction of pancreatic beta cells in humans. It offers the possibility of preventing type 1 diabetes in people at high risk and of halting its progress in people newly diagnosed with it. This kind of paradigm shift in the treatment of diabetes would very likely upset the status quo as it requires a fundamentally different approach - and some of these developments threaten the current model employed by diabetes drug manufacturers. This should be seen as a "positive" especially when you take a patient-centric perspective. So, while we hope that this chronic condition is warranting out-of-the-box thinking we remain in step with these innovators to effect another paradigm shift - one that disrupts the way practitioners are informed about medications for chronic indications such as diabetes.

 

Sincerely,

David

David Perry, CEO
Pharmacist Partners LLC
855-742-7611 
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