Joslin and Walgreens form a diabetes alliance

The Joslin Diabetes Centre and Walgreens drugstore chain are forming an alliance in order to improve general health amongst diabetics .
Joslin is an affiliate of the Harvard Medical School, and widely regarded as one of the seminal research facilities in the world. Together with Walgreens, who are the largest drugstore chain in the US, they aim to develop and deliver prevention, awareness and education programs to reach the estimated 21 million US residents who have diabetes .
There are also thought to be well over 40 million pre-diabetics in American, a number that could result in a widespread healthcare crisis. The alliance will implement a plan that runs for five years, during the course of which they will aim to open a specialty pharmacy on the Joslin campus in Boston .
The vice-president of Walgreens Health Services, Ron Weinert, said: “Diabetes in America continues to grow at epidemic proportions, and there are too few endocrinologists to handle that many patients. The burden of care is falling to primary care physicians and ultimately the patients, many of whom are our customers. We know the Joslin approach to education, outreach and disease management improves outcomes for people with diabetes, and our alliance is specifically designed to increase access to Joslin`s model for everyone we reach.”