Program raises awareness of those aware it exists

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Does it even matter?

What about a national health education campaign?

Last November, the National Diabetes Education Program--a joint program operated by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--launched "The ABCs of Diabetes," a new campaign aimed at raising awareness among the 16 million or so Americans living with diabetes of the increased risk for heart disease. At the heart of the campaign is a brochure that details the importance of routine screening for hemoglobin A1C levels, which measures average blood glucose over a three-month period, as well as blood pressure and cholesterol levels, two key indicators of heart disease.

Sure, it's a well-conceived program. People with diabetes are two times to four times more likely to suffer a heart attack, according to the American Diabetes Association. Yet as many as 7-out-of-10 people with diabetes have no idea this is true. (See the related story on page 54.) That is a potentially dangerous equation.

The only problem with the program is that it about as poorly executed as you could possibly imagine. A spokeswoman at NDEP told Drug Store News that NIH is using a media outreach program--mostly appearances on local talk radio shows--to get people with diabetes to contact them for a free copy of the brochure. That is how they intend to get the word out.

In order for your awareness to be raised, you first would have to be aware that the brochure exists. You would have to be aware that there is a toll-free number you could call to request a copy of the brochure, or you would have to be aware that you could download a copy from the Internet. And your only chance would seem to be some obscure radio talk show. Let's face it. Health care professionals don't tend to get much time on programs such as "Howard Stern" or "Imus in the Morning" or on any other program with any significant audience.

What about working with the ADA to distribute the brochures to its members? What about sending them to the American Association of Diabetes Educators? Both of these organizations and several others, including the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, are listed as related sources of information on the back of the "ABCs" brochure.

And what about drug chains? Last I checked, just about every chain with a pharmacy department was trying to get a little closer to its patients with diabetes. What if NIH was to send a Walgreens or a CVS a box of brochures for each of its stores--or at least the ones that tend to fill the most insulin and Glucophage prescriptions?

The question here should not be what if, but, why not?

NIH might as well just fold the brochures into paper airplanes and try to throw them at people who might be at risk. They just might be more likely to make contact.

Not to beat a dead horse ...

If there is anyone out there who still questions the value of the pharmacist's recommendation, they probably haven't seen Wyeth Consumer's new TV commercial for Dimetapp. The one where mom, dad and "junior" approach the pharmacy counter and ask the pharmacist which cough-cold remedy is right for the poor little sick boy; the one done through the eyes of the pharmacist.

If there is really no value in reaching the pharmacist--that consumers are not inclined to seek the pharmacist's advice or that pharmacists are too busy, or simply do not care enough to engage in such counsel-you would have to think that Wyeth wasted an awful lot of money. You would have to think Wyeth was nuts to use the image of the pharmacist to communicate its brand message and that it would mean anything to the customer.

For what it's worth, in the Jan. 21, 2002, issue of Drug Store News (page 11, "Busy pharmacists ...") I noted that in an informal survey 6-out-of-20 pharmacists recommended Dimetapp for OTC allergy relief.

You might start to think there just could be something to this whole pharmacist recommendation thing.

Clearly, Wyeth does.

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