How can pharma be a resource for diabetes patients and physicians? Morgan Moerder, Media Planner explains in this thought piece

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Diabetes
Care
During the recent CMI/Compas Diabetes
Education Day, we learned that there is a lot
more to Diabetes than just getting diagnosed and
taking medication. Diabetes calls for a lifestyle
change, and unfortunately, many people aren’t
up to speed on what exactly is necessary to treat
the disease. When hearing from patients,
endocrinologists and diabetes educators
throughout the day, we found there are many
perspectives of the disease.
A resonating theme that I heard at the Diabetes
Education Day was time – and the lack thereof.
We heard from all parties involved in the panel
that there is not enough time spent with
treating, learning, and understanding the
disease.
Focus on Diabetes
Are Time-Starved Physicians the Best Resource for
Patients with Diabetes?
CMI/Compas Diabetes Educational Experience
Time for Support
“There is not enough
time spent with treating,
learning, and
understanding the
disease.”
December 2014
A patient comes in and the HCP diagnoses them
with diabetes. The HCP likely has a packed day
full of appointments, and unfortunately doesn’t
have time to sit and fully explain the ins and outs
of their particular case. The HCP prescribes the
treatment and/or prescription and the patient is
sent on their way.
From an HCP Perspective:
There are always developments in the diabetes
disease state and there are thousands of
channels for HCPs to get their information and
stay current. However, does the HCP have the
time to explore all of these options, and ensure
that each individual patient has the best possible
treatment plan for their case? Likely not – there
isn’t enough time in the day for these HCPs to
keep up with this ever-evolving disease state.
Furthermore, we heard during the panel
discussion that there are not enough PCPs to
cover every diabetes patient. This makes it even
more difficult to give each patient the full care
they need.

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When patients are diagnosed with diabetes,
they typically leave the exam room feeling
overwhelmed and confused about how the
diagnosis will affect their lives. They can spend
time researching treatments and lifestyle
changes, but may not be spending enough time
determining the best plan of action for their
case and lifestyle.
Additionally, patients don’t always have the
time to select a primary care doctor. Instead,
patients are going to specialists (ex. women
using their OBGYN as their primary care
physician) or using “minute clinics” like
Walgreen’s and Rite Aid. If a patient doesn’t
take the time to fully understand their disease
or seek necessary attention from a specialist,
they can suffer from effects of mistreatment.
After hearing the diabetes educators speak at
the Education Day, I believe that this group
could be a huge benefit to both HCPs and
patients. In an effort to make sure their
patients have the resources and information
they need, every HCP who diagnoses a patient
with diabetes should refer their patients to an
Educator. This would give patients the chance
to get on a more personal level with someone
who knows their disease in and out, and would
have more time to talk them through
treatment options and personal struggles.
From a Patient Perspective:
Where are the Opportunities?
With all the holes in diabetes diagnosis and
education, there is also a huge opportunity for
pharma companies to take charge and make
sure patients, HCPs, pharmacies, educators,
families and communities are educated on the
disease. Pharmaceutical companies are the
ones creating the drugs, and I feel they should
be the ones backing their products not only to
HCPs, but to patients as well. If a patient isn’t
fully educated on their disease state, they likely
don’t understand the effects of the drugs they
are taking, and this leaves a huge gap in
treatment.
Pharma has the opportunity to create large
disease state awareness campaigns, so that
patients and HCPs know that they are experts
and have a place to turn to get more
information. We know most pharma companies
have brand websites, but every company
should have a disease state awareness site for
patients where they can go to learn about their
particular type of diabetes, and find out exactly
what kind of treatment options there are.
These sites should also host patient education,
in an easily digestible format for newly
diagnosed patients.
There are plenty of ways pharma companies
can promote disease state awareness, and this
is important for them to not only prove they are
experts on the drugs themselves, but also for
patient education and support.
Morgan Moerder
Media Planner
Communications Media, Inc.
Analyst: