When I heard that the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the premier advocacy and prevention organization for the nation’s 29 million diabetics, formed a partnership with CVS Pharmacies, my first thought was: “That’s great news for the nation’s 29 million diabetics.”

Then I went to their joint website. Eventually I found information for diabetics. But the first page that appeared after I clicked the digital hub’s address — www.cvs.com/diabetes-care — helpfully listed a variety of diabetes care products CVS sells, from pressure monitors, blood testing strips and compression stockings to foot and skin care products and sugar-free candies. This couldn’t be just about commerce, I thought.

Further down the page, I found a link to diabetes care information, which features useful info and about prevention, diet and living with diabetes. Of course, the page included the joint ADA/CVS logo, because they’re partners in healthy living.

Then, because I’m old and possibly disturbed, I felt déjà vu all over again.

I remembered a similar collaboration between a respected healthcare association and a for-profit company. In 1997 the American Medical Association, then suffering from declining physician membership and persistent financial losses, announced a five-year royalty partnership with the Sunbeam Corp. Under that agreement, the AMA logo would be imprinted on Sunbeam’s “Health at Home” products like humidifiers and heating pads. There was no agreement by the AMA to test those products stamped with their seal of approval.

After considerable backlash from its physician members and the healthcare community, the venerable association announced it would renege on the deal. One week later, in September 1997, Sunbeam filed a breach of contract suit, eventually settling in 1998 by paying Sunbeam nearly $10 million. Heads rolled at the AMA. Top executives resigned after the association was pilloried in editorials for selling its reputation and compromising its credibility. And lessons were learned. But the imbroglio continued to haunt the AMA, where revenues continued to drop.

How is the CVS-ADA deal any different? Well, for one, times have changed. Newspapers have shrunken in size and influence and no longer command the shaming bully pulpit they once did. Ethics are a little more flexible now and there is a broader understanding that not-for-profit organizations require steady revenue streams. It’s not like the ADA announced a partnership with North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un or someone equally nefarious.

CVS Pharmacy is now the “official” exclusive drugstore for “Partner in Healthy Living,” as the initiative with the ADA is called. By late Wednesday, I was unable to reach officials with CVS or the ADA who could comment on the parallels between their partnership and the earlier, ill-fated endorsement deal between the AMA and Sunbeam.

“Both organizations will be focused on raising awareness and funding to help Stop Diabetes. We are committed to making it easier for our customers living with diabetes to find the right products and expertise to help them manage their disease,” said Judy Sansone, a CVS senior vice president, in a news release. “CVS Pharmacy is a leading health destination with expert pharmacists and an easy to navigate diabetes management section featuring a wide assortment of products from glucose monitors and testing strips to sugar-free snacks.”

So I guess it’s at least partly about commerce.

Their joint digital hub also allows visitors to donate directly to the ADA online.

“This collaboration with CVS Pharmacy will help us reach millions of Americans with valuable information to improve their health and management of their diabetes” said the ADA’s Jonathan Webb, vice president of corporate alliances, in the same release.

So it’s all good, right? A win-win merchandising match made in marketing heaven?

Wonder what the former AMA and Sunbeam partners would say?

Photo: Flickr user mechanikat