Pharmacies send more than 4,500 people at risk of diabetes to doctors

More than 4,500 Portuguese with a moderate and very high risk of diabetes were referred by pharmacies to their family doctor, as part of a national screening action involving approximately 8,100 clients, announced today # 1965

users took place under the "No to Diabetes! Gulbenkian Challenge ", held between November 14, 2017 and May 1, 2018, to inform and prevent the development of type 2 diabetes," a disease with significant costs for the National Health Service, "the National Association of Pharmacies (ANF) said in a statement.

The screening action involved 383 pharmacies in 64 municipalities, rating a total of 8,112 users, according to ANF, adding that the reference for more than half of the Portuguese examined resulted in about 2,000 medical consultations.

According to the association, 190 patients were diagnosed who were not aware of being diabetic,

The method used by pharmacists was the 39, risk assessment (Findrisk), with technological support and communication between the pharmacy system and the health data platform,

For the director of the program Gulbenkian Inovar in the Gulbenkian Foundation, Jorge Soares, they contributed "to the success of this intervention" two key factors

"The first was the effectiveness of recruitment and identification of people at risk of diabetes through the unique collaboration of pharmacies to identify users, test them and refer them to health centers. The second factor was the education of people for the future, with a focus on health centers. The success of the challenge was only possible thanks to the alignment of several partners: municipalities, pharmacies as an access point and health centers, "explains Jorge Soares in his press release .

Screening by assessing the risk of developing the disease such as obesity, smoking, or family history is critical because diabetes is asymptomatic at first, but can lead to a variety of organs, such as as kidneys, eyes, and vascular system

"Undiagnosed and uncontrolled diabetes with deregulated metabolic rate and high blood glucose levels, higher risk of complications and can lead to death," says Adelaide Figueiredo, doctor at the Diabetology Center of the Hospital District of Santarém

Early diagnosis of diabetes is important to prevent injuries and related complications such as myocardial infarction, stroke or diabetic foot 19659002] In Portugal, diabetes affects more than one million people and receives about 200 new patients a day, of which more than two million s of people with pre-diabetes join

. It is estimated that about 44% of people with diabetes are undiagnosed. Therefore, early diagnosis is one of the priorities of the national program. for diabetes (PND)