Shire Launches Educational Resource For People Living With Diabetes And Their Caregivers
Shire Launches Educational Resource For People Living With Diabetes And Their Caregivers
HealTogether.com is designed to increase patient awareness of diabetic foot ulcers and encourage immediate treatment of diabetes-related complications
SAN DIEGO– INSERT DATE – Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) has recently launched a new educational resource for people with diabetes and their caregivers as part of its HealTogether national awareness program. HealTogether.com is an online community designed to increase awareness and education of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and help patients better understand that DFUs should be treated immediately.
With numerous pages of educational content related to diabetes and diabetes-related complications, including an animation that simplifies the complexity of DFUs, downloadable support material that helps patients speak about their DFU with their healthcare provider, and a tool to assist in the location of specialists for treatment, HealTogether.com is a convenient resource for anyone impacted by diabetic foot ulcers. The website also includes a questionnaire to help determine who is at risk for a DFU and videos of patients who are being treated for their DFUs.
“Diabetic foot sores, or ulcers, are arguably one of the most common complications of diabetes with 25% of people with diabetes experiencing a DFU in their lifetime,” said Dr. Lee C. Rogers, D.P.M. co-medical director of the Amputation Prevention Center at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, Calif. “Because an untreated DFU can become chronic and lead to a serious complication, such as amputation, we want to provide as much education as possible to avoid this outcome and help patients understand that they’re not alone- there is help and support available.”
HealTogether.com is the foundation of Shire’s nationwide HealTogether program which is dedicated to promoting proper foot care for people with diabetes, educating individuals about DFUs, and encouraging those with non-healing DFUs to talk to their doctors about seeing a wound care specialist.
About Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs)
Diabetic foot ulcers are wounds that can develop on the feet of people with diabetes. They are often difficult to heal and may become chronic in nature.
There are several reasons that wounds may not heal, but one major reason may be that over time high blood sugar levels can injure blood vessels, which may result in decreased blood flow to the wound.
DFUs are a common complication in patients with diabetes. Among people with diabetes, up to 25% experience a DFU in their lifetime and the annual incidence is approximately 3.4%.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Shire enables people with life-altering conditions to lead better lives.
Our strategy is to focus on developing and marketing innovative specialty medicines to meet significant unmet patient needs.
We provide treatments in Neuroscience, Rare Diseases, Gastrointestinal, Internal Medicine and Regenerative Medicine and we are developing treatments for symptomatic conditions treated by specialist physicians in other targeted therapeutic areas.