• Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, January 13, 2010 10:32 AM

Walgreens Optimal Wellness, a program that will involve pharmacists coaching customers who have Type 2 diabetes, will be announced today during the drugstore chain's annual shareholders meeting in Chicago, Bruce Japsen reports.

Direct and indirect costs of diabetes to the U.S. health care system are more than $130 billion a year, Japsen writes, including emergency room visits, extended hospital stays and absenteeism. "One of the best ways to slow down the acceleration of the disease is to stay well," says Colin Watts, Walgreens' vp and chief innovation officer.

If an employee's health plan or employer has a relationship with a Walgreens pharmacy, customers may be eligible for four to six consultations a year. The consultations will be conducted either by pharmacists or nurse practitioners, who will follow up with the patients' physicians.

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