Diabetes is a serious, chronic disease affecting an estimated 16 million Americans with total costs in excess of $92 billion a year. A changing healthcare market is creating demand for coordinated, standardized methods of optimizing both outcomes and resource utilization. Diabetes clinical care pathways (DCCPs) and diabetes patient-focused care plans (DPFCPs) are valuable management tools used to coordinate the delivery of clinically appropriate, cost-effective, interdisciplinary diabetes healthcare services. This article identifies the characteristics of DCCPs and DPFCPs, and describes the pharmacist's role in their development and use in clinical practice.
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