Merck, Health Interactions look to improve conversation on diabetes

CHICAGO and WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. Merck and the health education company Health Interactions have announced an expansion of a multiyear relationship to change how healthcare professionals engage patients in learning about diabetes and to improve diabetes self-management education among patients.

Healthy Interactions and Merck now will undertake training and equipping 5,000 additional healthcare professionals with the U.S. Diabetes Conversation Map Program, which allows people with diabetes to communicate in groups that include other diabetics and diabetes educators to help deal and live with the chronic disease. Healthy Interactions developed the program in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association. The enlarged effort also provides for the debut of the U.S. Diabetes Conversation Map Program in Spanish, beginning this month, to help connect with the nearly three million Hispanics and Latinos with diabetes in the United States.

Merck sponsors Training and distribution of the U.S. Diabetes Conversation Map tools. Since launching at the 2007 American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, the demand for the U.S. Diabetes Conversation Map Program has been so strong that Healthy Interactions has surpassed its three-year goal of training 10,000 healthcare professionals in just 10 short months.

The expansion of the Conversation Map Program into the Spanish language represents an important milestone. Hispanics and Latinos have a significantly increased risk for diabetes, with Type 2 diabetes occurring at a rate approximately 1.7 times that in the non- Hispanic white population.

“Merck is firmly committed to improving patient education through our flagship program, Journey for Control, and we recognize the value and impact that this Program has for patients with diabetes,” said Kathryn Hayward, U.S. Marketing Leader, Diabetes at Merck.