Walgreens' Pegus to discuss impact of diabetes management on healthcare costs

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens' chief medical officer will discuss the evidence-based medicine design and impact of a diabetes management program delivered by pharmacists at both workplace and community pharmacies during an upcoming conference, the drug store chain said.

Cheryl Pegus will speak during the fifth annual World Research Group’s Diabetes Prevention and Management Forum for Health Plans and Employers in Las Vegas on Dec. 9. Pegus, who joined Walgreens as chief medical officer in May, will present in a session called “Community: The Impact of Pharmacist-Led Interventions,” which will help the audience learn how pharmacists provide cost-effective chronic care management in partnership with other healthcare professionals and positively impact healthcare costs, Walgreens said. Features include:

• Driving engagement through convenient face-to-face access to a trusted clinician;
• Delivering interventions that drive participation and behavior change; and
• Demonstrating positive clinical improvement in HbA1c, blood pressure, HDL cholesterol and body mass index, while ensuring high levels of patient satisfaction.

Walgreens' health outcomes and analytics director, Michael Taitel, also will be presenting at the conference.