Getting the millions of Americans at risk for type 2 tested is the first step, experts say
THURSDAY, March 12, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Reducing the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes is a new mission shared by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officials said Thursday.
“Our health care system cannot sustain the growing number of people developing diabetes,” Ann Albright, director of the CDC’s division of diabetes translation, said during a morning news conference announcing the partnership.
More than 86 million Americans are living with prediabetes, but nearly 90 percent don’t know it, the CDC said. “That’s one in every three people. This isn’t just a concern — it’s a crisis,” Robert Wah, M.D., president of the AMA, said during the news conference.
The new program’s goal is to make doctors aware that they should order blood tests to screen their patients for prediabetes, and refer these borderline patients to diabetes prevention programs. The new program is called Prevent Diabetes STAT (Screen, Test, Act Today).
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