Diabetes, an American Public Health Crisis

Given that the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diabetes is such an important part of primary care, we at Consultant and Consultant360.com are committed to bringing you the latest clinical information on all aspects of this condition, in print, online, and in person.

The American Diabetes Association reports that 29.1 million Americans—that’s 1 in 11—are living with diabetes today. Despite the fact that someone gets a diabetes diagnosis every 23 seconds, 8.1 million with diabetes have not yet received a diagnosis. And diabetes causes more US deaths than AIDS and breast cancer combined.

Luckily, the past decade has brought many advances, from better understanding of risk factors and the complex interplay between diabetes and hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia, and many other conditions, to new medications that can help your patients improve their glycemic control.

In this issue’s “Controversies in Clinical Care” feature, which begins on page 1008, Eric A. Dietrich, PharmD, BCPS, and Kyle Davis, PharmD, BCPS, discuss one relatively recent advance, SGLT-2 inhibitors. Are the 3 available agents equivalent and interchangeable, or is one preferred over the others, and if so, in which patients, and when? For the answers, read their excellent article.

To read more peer-reviewed clinical articles from Consultant online, along with up-to-date news and information about diabetes, visit Consultant360.com. We have curated all of the latest diabetes content at our specialty page, Diabetes 360. Recent coverage there includes reports on the effects of soft drink consumption on diabetes risk, the best way to manage lipid levels in diabetics, and the newest guidelines on insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors. You’ll also find an “Images in Diabetes” section, dozens of diabetes case reports, and much more.

Having attended the Cardiometabolic Risk Summit, powered by Consultant, in Las Vegas last month, I can personally attest to primary care providers’ intense interest in diabetes care and their desire to learn how to put advances in knowledge, technology, and pharmacology into practice. For a sampling of the breadth and depth of educational coverage that CRS offers, click “Video” on the “Multimedia” menu at Consultant360.com and watch engaging short interviews of summit faculty by CRS co-chair and Consultant editorial board member Edward J. Shahady, MD. Learn more and register for the next CRS in Dallas, October 20-22, 2017, at www.primarycarecardiometabolic.com.

Let me know how our diabetes coverage meets your needs and what more we can do. Contact me at editor@consultant360.com.

Michael Gerchufsky, ELS, CMPP
Managing Editor, Consultant