Diabetes: Treating the Coming Tsunami
2013; American Diabetes Association; Volume: 26; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2337/diaspect.26.1.58
ISSN1944-7353
Autores Tópico(s)Diabetes and associated disorders
ResumoI am honored to be able to address you and share some of my thoughts about the growing epidemic of diabetes, some of the ways in which we are making progress, and some of the ways in which we need to be much more proactive. In the next 25 minutes, 80 people will be diagnosed with diabetes: one every 18 seconds. One of them could be your family member, your child, or the man that rides next to you on the train to work each morning. Diabetes: we all know what it is. For many of us, it has been our life's work. Unfortunately, there is enough work in the field of diabetes to last for generations to come. My fondest dream would be to hold high a vial of a miraculous serum, as Jonas Salk did when he announced the polio vaccine, and tell you that we have found the cure for diabetes, that the work of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is done, that our mission is fulfilled. A life free from diabetes and all of its burdens. However, lately, I have been having two recurring nightmares. In one, there are lines and lines of people, all with diabetes, who are typing their names into a vast computer program. They fill in a questionnaire and then download a list of lab work to be done before a 3-minute telephone or e-mail appointment time. The lucky ones will talk with a real person; the unlucky will get an automated response from a very clever program that allows them to select options. It is similar to the airlines, but instead of the voice asking if you want flight information, it will ask if you need insulin or dietary adjustments. My second nightmare is actually real. It is the story of …
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