CDE Pharmacists in the United States

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Diabetes Education
• Health Professions

Background:

• Pharmacists are increasingly involved in diabetes care, being the third-largest group of health professionals with the Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) credential.
• The specific practice settings for pharmacists with the CDE credential were not well-defined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the current practice settings for Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs) who are pharmacists.
• To understand the distribution of CDE pharmacists across various healthcare environments.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, nationwide electronic survey was distributed to all CDE pharmacists in the United States.
• Data collected included demographics, practice setting, certification details, counseling topics, and perceptions of the CDE credential.

Main Results:

• A total of 462 responses were analyzed, yielding a 36.2% response rate.
• The most common practice setting for CDE pharmacists was hospitals or health systems (n=311).
• Other significant settings included academia (n=100), community pharmacies (n=81), and managed care (n=44).

Conclusions:

• Study findings offer crucial data on the practice locations of CDE pharmacists.
• The consistent growth in CDE pharmacists indicates an expanding role in diabetes education.
• Diabetes educators and healthcare professionals should acknowledge the varied settings where CDE pharmacists contribute to patient care.